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JEWELRY 



THE PRECIOUS STONES 



JEWELRY 




AKO 



THE PRECIOUS STONES: 

WITH A HISTORY, 

AND DESCRIPTION FROM MODELS, 

OF THE LARQEST INDIVIDUAL, DIAMONDS KNOWN: 

INCLUDINO, PARTICULARLY, A CONSIDERATION 

OF THE KOH-I-NOOR^ CLAIM 

TO NOTORIETY. 

BY 

HIPPONAX ROSET. 




JOHN PENINGTON & SON; 

—wo 61, SOUTH SEVEXTH STREET- 
PHILADELPHIA: 

1856. 




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CONTENTS. 



HISTORV OF THE JEWELER'S ART FROM 




Superstitions and aneodotos, 


17, IS 


THE EARLIEST RECORDS TO 


THE 




The Crown of Hungary, 


IS 


PRESENT TIME, 




2 to 6 


The Crown of England, 


18 


THE PRECIOUS STONES, 




6 


The Crowns of Russia, 


19 


THE DIAMOND, 




6 to 22 


The Crown of France, 


19 


General characteristics, 




6,T 


Profusion of Diamonds in Russia, 


18,19 


Mines, 




7, 8, 22 


Its name in various languages, 


23 


Mode of mining, 




7,8 


Its application to the mechanical arts, 


22 


Mode of cutting, 




8,9 


THE SAPPHIRE. 


22.23 


Mode of estimating, 




10 


THE RUBY, 


23,24 


Origin of " carat," 




10, 21, 22 


THE TOPAZ, 


24 


Individual specimens, described from 




THE EMERALD, 


24 to 26 


models, chiefly. 




10 to 17 


THE AMETHYST, 


26,27 


The Emperor of Russia's, 




11.12 


THE CARNELIAN, 


27 


The Orand Dulce of Tuscany's, 




12 


THE GARNET, 


27 


The Regent, 




12, 19 


THE ONYX, 


28,2-.) 


L'EtoOe du Sud, 




12,19 


Cameos, 


20 


The Koh-i-noor, 


12 to 16, 19 to 21 


THE SARDONYX, 


29 


(^"The Great MnouVs;" shewn to be 




THE HELIOTROPE, 


29 


identical with the Emperor 


«/ 




THE CHRYSOLITE. 


29,30 


Russia's, rather than with 


the 




THE HYACINTH. 


30 


Koh-i-^oor,) 


U to 16, 19 to 21 


THE CAT'S EYE, 


30,31 


The King of Ptyrtugal's, 




16, 17, 21 


THE OPAL, 


31 


The Blue Diamond, 




17,21 


THE PEARL, 


31 to 33 


The Pacha of Egypt's, 




17,21 


THE TURQUOISE, 


33.34 


Tfie Etiglish Lottery Diamond. 

The Sancy Diamond, 

The Polar Star, 

Thi Rajah of Mattan's, 

The Shah, 

The Green Diamond, 




17,21 
17, 21 
17 
17 
17 
17 


THE PRINCIPAL JEWELERS OF FRANCE, 
ENGLAND AND AMERICA, CONTEM- 
PORANEOUS HEREWITH, 

DESCRIPTION OF A JEWELRY MANUFAC- 
TORY OF THE FIRST RANK, 


34 to 3S 


The IVassue Diamond, 




17,21 


THE CULTURE OP THE BEAUTIFUL JUS- 




Unnamed specimens. 




17.21 


TIFIED. 


39, 10 



PREFACE, 



The matter of the following pages appeared originally, divided 
into half a dozen Chapters, in Numbers 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, and 
23 of Bizarre, Volume VI, Year 1855. Although the subject 
is by no means fully discussed, the scope the author has allowed 
himself is believed to be comprehensive enough for the patience 
of the general reader. And a combination of these Chapters into 
one, it has been suggested, would form a pamphlet of sufficient 
interest to warrant its publication. In doing this, a more me- 
thodical arrangement of the subject, than that originally pursued, 
has been adopted ; considerable additional matter has been intro- 
duced ; and many former errors of the press corrected. 

H, R„ 

Philadelphia, December 1, 1855. 



JEWELRY 



AND 



THE PRECIOUS STONES. 



To one, Avlio contemplates it, there is much 
'tlmt is of the poetic and attractive about the 
vocation of the Jeweler. In the first place, 
the materials he chiefly deals with are the 
rarest of earth's mineral products, the mas- 
ter-pieces of the " mighty mother," Nature, 
in this department of her labors. Gold and 
silver and the precious stones have iu all 
ages exercised an important influence over the 
hopes and wishes, the thoughts and imagina- 
tions of men in all stages of development, 
and these are the principal subjects of the 
Jeweler's handiwork. 

For a description of the potency of gold, 
Sliakspeare, as might have been supposed, 
transcends all others. 

" This y«!Iow slave 
VTill knit and break reliirions ; bless the accurs«cl; 
JIake the hoar leprosy adored^ place thieves. 
And give them title, knee and approbation ! 
O thou sweet king-killer, and dear divorce 
'Twixt natural son and sire! thou bright defiler 
Of Hymen's purest bed! thou valiant Mars! 
Thou ever young, fresh, loved and delicate wooer, 
■Whose blush doth thaw the consecrated snow 
That lies on Dian's lap! thou visible god, 
That Eolder'st close impoesibilities 
And mak'st them kiss! that speak'st with every tongue, 
To every purpose !" 

And this same metal is matter of the 
tlfiweler^s daily handling. 
r^ And then the associations connected with 
\ the products of his Art are such as appeal, 
V in numerous respects, most forcibly to the 
imagination. Kings and queens, peers and 
peeresses ; beauty, elegance, grace and re- 
finement; coronation seasons; triumphal oc- 
casions in all their variety ; the hall and the 
festival ; all these persons, scenes and things 
have a natural relation to the Jeweler's pro- 
fession, and derive no small share of their 
brilliancy and charm from the beautiful and 
costly specimens of his skill. 

L . The Jeweler's profession, too, belongs to 

the sphere of the artistic-beautiful, and is 
undeniably entitled to rank as one of the 
Fine Arts. Such, indeed, in ancient days, it 
was in the most absolute sense. The ana- 



tomic and general scientific knowledge, and 
the manipulative skill coupled with the 
creative genius, which went to the shaping 
of the immortal works of Phidias in marble 
and Apelles on canvass, were not less de- 
voted to the intaglios and alto-relievos of 
the gem-engravers Agathopus, Polygnotus, 
Apollonides, Lycos and their compeers suc- 
cessively in the Periclean, Alexandrian and 
Augustan ages. 

Still further. The precious stones have 
in all ages been signalized by myriad forms 
of imaginative, poetic superstition. These 
may in part have sprung from the several 
important uses made by monarchs of their 
engraved signet-rings. Pharaoh, we read, 
in conferring upon Joseph the vice-regal 
office, entrusted him with his own signet- 
ring. Antiochus Epiphanes gave his minis- 
ter Philip his ring, as a token of the latter's 
authority to elect a successor to the throne. 
Alexander the Great, while dying, transfer- 
red his signet to his general Perdiccas, and 
thus made him his successor. Darius and 
his nobles set their seals to the lions' den, 
into which Daniel was cast, as a security 
against the pi'ophet's being removed there- 
from without their permission. Judah gave 
his signet-ring to Tamar, as a pledge of his 
faith. In short, we find that, among the 
Egyptians and Hebrews, the Phoenicians and 
Greeks, the Etruscans, the Romans and the 
Northern nations generally, the engraved ring 
was employed as a token to impart authority 
and security besides being the most valued 
of all ornaments. 

It was doubtless from these circumstances, 
in part at least, tliat the precious gems be- 
came invested with so many superstitious 
associations. Many among them have al- 
ways been and are to this day ciierished by 
the Orientals as amulets possessing numerous 
mystic virtues both negative and positive — 
shielding their owners from peril and ad- 
versity, and securing to them prosperous 
fortunes. All over the East the signet of 
Solomon has been embalmed in numberless 
fables, as gifted with a miraculous power to 
command and control the dives, genii and 



JEWELRY AND THE PRECIOUS STONES. 



other demonic inhabitants of the invisible 
spheres. 

There is no extant history to oiir know- 
ledge of the Jeweler's vocation. Apelles, the 
celebrated Grecian painter, wrote a histoi-y 
of Art, which has unfortunately perished. 
There can be little doubt that this contained 
in a consecutive form the information we 
might desire on this subject. As it is, we 
must glean what information we may from 
scattered notices in general history. 

From all we can gather, it would seem 
that the Jeweler's vocation originally was 
not a distinct one, but was merged in the 
general profession of the Artist — a profession 
sometimes uniting sculpture, engraving, 
&c.. It is most probable that gem-engraving 
originated, like numerous other Arts, among 
the Egyptians. Diodorus Siculus, it is true, 
aflBi-ms that the Ethiopians preceded the 
Egyptians in this Art, but he furnishes no 
authentic evidence of this. Vague tradition, 
indeed, intimates that, at a date so early as 
to be immemorial, there existed in central 
Africa a nation, entitled the Ethiopians, who 
had reached a very high pitch of culture and 
refinement, besides being distinguished for 
eminent moral worth. Thus Homer, in ouo 
of his Epics, speaks of Jove arid the other 
Olympians having gone on their annual visit 
to the "blameless Ethiopians.'^ It might 
be, on the testimony of this hoary tradition, 
that Diodorus attributes the invention of 
gem-engraving to the Ethiopians. Authentic 
history, however, assigns it to Egypt. 

The first Egyptian specimens of this Art 
were hyeroglyphic symbols of their deities 
on shells and agate stones. These shells 
and stones were doubtless worn earliest 
as amulets, though afterwra-ds as orna- 
ments. The use of these ornamental 
symbols of the divinities speedily became so 
extensive, as to stimulate to improvements 
in the Art, as also to the employment of ma- 
terials more valuable than shell and agate. 
This Art seems to have attained its zenith 
among the Egyptians under the great con- 
queror, Sesostris, 1,000 years B. C, and 150 
years after the supposed date of the siege of 
Troy. 

So far as we can gather, Egypt was the 
sino-le source from which the knowledge of 
this Art, as well as of others, spread into the 
other ancient nations made known to us by 
history. Moses and his people doubtless car- 
ried it thence into Palestine, for we find 
notices of it in the earliest Hebrew records. 

The Phoenicians were eminent especially 
as diesinkers, but also celebrated for their 
cameos and engraved gems generally. Their 
knowledge was probably derived from the 
banks of the Nile, though some have pro- 
nounced them original Artists, on what 
authority we know not. 



The Arts generally, this inclusive, are said 
to have been carried into Greece from Egypt 
1,300 years B, C, and 150 years after Moses' 
death. If introduced thus early, it is singu- 
lar that Homer, in his account of the Trojan 
war, which is placed by tradition 150 years 
later, should not have mentioned engraved 
gems, while he does mention chasing on 
metal of the highest artistic perfection, as in 
the description of Achilles' shield, &c., &c.. 
Yet the eminent sculptor Polygnotus places 
an engraved ring on the linger of his statue 
of Ulysses, intimating his opinion, that the 
Art was known in Ulysses' day. Some of 
the earliest known Greek engravings on 
gems were those of Egyptian scarabtei and 
deities, — a clear evidence of the origin of 
their Art. During the interval of 800 years 
from Da3dalus to Pericles the Arts generally, 
this among the number, steadily advanced. 
To this era belong the distinguished names 
of Ileius, Scylax, Admon and others. The 
age of Pericles and that immediately fol- 
lowing were the topmost period of Greek 
Art. Phidias and Praxiteles, Apelles, Zeuxis, 
Parrhasius and Polygnotus, Aspasia, Mycon, 
Pamphylus and Plotarchus may be named, 
as among the artist-immortals of this era. 
Which of these combined gem-engraving 
with their other artistic performances we are 
unable to say. We are assured, however, 
that in gem-engraving were then found 
united all the excellences of sculpture and 
painting. 

During the century interveni^ between 
Pericles and Macedonian Alexander the 
Arts most probably declined little, if at all, 
in excellence. We find, engraved on gems 
of Alexander's time, as the names of iheir 
artists, Agathomerus, Axeochus and Aga- 
thopus. History records, too, as artists of 
the same era, some of them doubtless gem- 
engravers, Pyrgoletes, Action, Apollonides, 
Solon, Sostratus, Cronius, &c.. 

The Etruscans, the aborigines of Italy, 
having borrowed from Egypt the rudiments 
of the Arts, cultivated them witli considera- 
ble success. Their existence, as a separate 
people, however, was historically brief, and 
finally became merged in the universally 
dominant life of Home. 

For the first seven or eight centuries of 
their existence, the Romans seem to have 
devoted little attention to the culture of Art, 
Wars of conquest and agriculture were their 
favorite and almost sole pursuits. As their 
conquests, however, gradually extended over 
countries distinguished for artistic cultiva- 
tion, the spoils conveyed to Rome by vic- 
torious generals by degrees created a taste 
for the products of Art. We read that 
Pompey made a fine collection of these from 
the spoils of the celebrated Mithridatcs of 
Pontus ; that Julius Caesar presented the 



JEWELRY AND THE PRECIOUS STONES. 



city ■with a collection of gems engraved at 
his own expense ; that Marcus Scaunis had 
a museum of this kind, as had also Marcol- 
lus, tliat son of Octavia, whose early death 
is so pathetically commemorated by \ irgil in 
his ^"Eueid. We learn alsotiiat intaglio por- 
traits were common at tliis era. The emi- 
nence /ittained in tlie Jeweler's Art by these 
people is fully establislied, not upon the 
strength of the history and writings uf the 
period, but by tlie superb specimens actually 
extant in all the great museums of tlie Eu- 
ropean continent, which specimens have been 
exhumed at various periods from Etruscan 
graves, from Herculaneum, Pompeii, and 
numerous other localities in Italy. The 
British Museum some time sirfce became by 
purchase the repository of many treasures of 
this description which had been collected by 
the Prince of Canino. Among them are 
several necklaces of gold, some wrought into 
wreaths of ivy leaves, others consisting of 
circles, lozenges, rosettes, hippocampi, pen- 
dent hearts, &c.. The necklace proper, 
adorned with drops or pendents, which, 
when worn, fell round the neck like rays di- 
verging from the centre, was always a favor- 
ite ornament among the women of antiquity. 
The necklace has been in nearly all ages 
and countries worn too as a decoration or 
mark of distinction bj' men, and still exists 
as their most precious badge among the ex- 
tremes of the race — the refined Orders of 
Knighthood and the Savage Families of Indian 
chiefs — and by the word Indian we imply 
the whole race of uncivilized Man. 

Of course the progress of the Arts in Rome 
must have been greatly accelerated by the re- 
duction of Greece, their preeminently favored 
seat, to a Roman province about a century 
and a half before Christ, and the large migra- 
tion of Greek Artists, which would naturally 
then follow to t^he metropolis of the world. 
In fact Ilomu's most celebrated artists were 
rarely of other than Greek extraction, the 
Romans being ever worshippers rather of 
strength than of beauty. Tliis will appear 
in most of the following names, — those of 
distinguished artists of the era of Augustus, 
Rome's so-called "golden age," viz. Epityn- 
chamus, Felix, .i^Dpolianus, Evodus, Lycos, 
Carpos, &c.. 

The Arts continued to flourish in Rome 
till the reign of Septimius Severus about 
A. D., 200. By this period the empire had 
become so disordered, as to exhibit symptoms 
of rapid decline, and the Arts naturally 
shared in its f\ite. The removal of the Em- 
peror Constantine to Byzantium and the con- 
stituting of this the metropolis of the empire 
about A. D., 300, transferred most (;f the re- 
maining artistic culture to this city. It was 
the retiuence of the bright stream to its 
fountain-head. At Rome tiie bari^arian ir- 



ruptions, at the latter part of the fourth and 
the opening of the fifth centuries, buried in 
dense night whatever yet remained of the 
ligiit of Art. At Constantinople they sur- 
vived some centuries longer, though dwin- 
dling under the disorders of the Eastern em- 
pire, till this empire was subverted, A. D., 
1,453, by the Turkish Sultan, Mahomet II. 
The Greek artists fled from this barbarian 
dominion, and found refuge in Italy. They 
were favorably received and patronized by 
the Popes, then in the zenith of both tem- 
poral and spiritual power, and by the citi- 
zens of those Italian Republics, which so 
brilliantly illustrated the darkness of me- 
diiBval times. The Medici of Florence were 
especially distinguished for their munificent 
encouragement alike of Classic learning and 
of Art, and Lorenzo bestowed a more than 
ordinary patronage upon the Art of gem- 
engraving. His brother Giovanni was him- 
self the most eminent gem-engraver of his 
age. 

We are now brought to the period in Avhich 
the Jeweler's Art reached its culminating 
point in the artistic performances of Ben- 
venuto Cellini. He was born at Florence in 
1500, and was the son of an ivory-cutter. He 
apprenticed himself at an early age to a 
goldsmith, and soon rivalled the best work- 
men in designing, carving, engraving, chas- 
ing, damaskening steel, &c.. His skill be- 
came so well known that he was employed 
by the Pope, Clement YII, to make the 
stamps for the Roman mint; and the coins 
struck from them remain unrivalled to this 
day. After the death of Clement his talents 
were kept employed by the Grand Dukes of 
Tuscany, and by Francis I of France. The 
statues and statuettes in marble and metals, 
the medals, the works of jewelry, the ela- 
l)orately chased vases and dishes, executed 
for these sovereigns by this great Jeweler, 
ai-e incredil)ly numerous, and the chief of 
them still exist in the great European recep- 
tacles of Art, where they have been carefully 
preserved, and have challenged the skill of 
the first artists of every subsequent age. But 
the extent of the subject we have assigned to 
ourselves forbids us to linger any longer 
upon this interesting man — for, a correct, 
full and just description of certain single 
specimens of his celebrated chased vases, or 
pieces of plate, would of itself cover scarcely 
less ground than does our entire article. 
Before finally disnussing him however we 
will recommend to the reader's notice his 
autobiography, a translation of which, under 
the title of '•Memoirs of Benvenuto Cellini," 
(2 vols, Hvo.) was published in 1822, under 
the supervision of Thomas Roscoe. This is 
one of the most entertaining and peculiar 
pieces of composition extant, and such a 
course of extravagant self-laudation does our 



6 



JEWELRY AND THE PRECIOUS STONES. 



hero pursue, throughout his book, that the 
reader would be strongly inclined to suspect 
him of being but a quack after all, if, fortu- 
nately for his reputation, the embodiments 
of the great conceptions of his genius did not 
still exist in all their pristine perfection. 

We have thus traced the history of Art 
down to the period when the Reformation, 
the discovery of America, the invention of 
printing, &c., &c., gave a new and unprece- 
dented and universal impulse to all branches 
of culture and all departments of human im- 
provement. Under this impulse all the na- 
tions of Christendom have been rapidly and 
incessantly advancing, and their progress at 
this moment is, perhaps, more rapid than 
ever before. With the lapse of time and the 
division of labor, which has so widely taken 
place in all trades and professions, the 
Jeweler's vocation has gradually become 
separated from that of the general Artist, 
and its professors now limit their perfor- 
mances chiefly to the more valuable metals, 
gold and silver, and the precious stones. 

Altliough, as we have said, no individual 
performances have since surpassed those of 
Cellini, still since then the most extraordinary 
improvements have taken place in the Jewel- 
er's Art — in his day the commissions of the 
European monarchs sufficed to monopolize all 
the talent of the epoch — in ours, thanks to 
steam and other ingenious mechanical inven- 
tions of late periods the elementary branches 
of labor in this Art have been so abridged, 
thus reducing upon any single piece of work 
the expenditure of efi'ort of the finishing Ar- 
tist, and enlarging prodigiously the general 
field of workmanship, that the talent now at 
the world's command suffices for the full ac- 
complishment of the endless commissions of 
that now really vast population throughout 
the globe, the wealthy classes. Pans and 
London in tlie Eastern hemisphere, and New 
York in the V/estern, are the principal seats 
of culture of this Art at the present time. 
Had we in detail the materials we would 
connect herewith some description of the 
great establisiiments of the former cities 
which supply their continent with the mag- 
•nificent jewelry in such general deniand 
at this day among people of wealth. How- 
ever unprepared we are for that task, we are 
not, as it happens, able to plead a want of 
information concerning the great focus of 
the Art of the Jeweler on this side of the 
Atlantic — we mean the Atelier of Tiffany in 
New York. Alter a full discussion then of 
the main branches of our subject, we will, 
lunless it would be prolonging our article un- 
reasonably for the pages of so slight a journal 
as Bizarre, revert to this point and give our 
readers some account of this vast labora- 
tory — not only because we consider that it 
•cain«s really within the scope of our subject 



and that we possess the materials therefor, 
but because we believe we could make it 
very interesting, and, still further, for a spe- 
cial reason that we will give, if we resume 
the consideration of the matter that has sug- 
gested itself here. 

Having traced the history of the Jeweler's 
Art to the present day it seems proper now, 
that we should speak of the materials with 
which the Jeweler is chiefly engaged. Of 
gold and silver it were superfluous speaking, 
since whatever is known at all concerning 
these metals, and the regions producing them, 
is sufficiently familiar to all readers. Of the 
Precious Stones we may then speak, and this 
we will do in their respective order of hard- 
ness, Avhich the lapidarj'^ divides into ten 
principal grades. 1. The Diamond. 2. The 
Sapphire, the Ruby. 3. The Topaz, the 
Emerald, the Amethyst. 4. The Carneliau, 
the Carbuncle, the Garnet, the Onyx, the 
Sardonyx, the Heliotrope, the Chrysolite, 
the Hyacinth, tlie Cat's-eye. 5. The Opal. 
6. The Pearl. 7. The Turquoise. Under 
the 8th, 9th, and 10th grades are classed sub- 
stances not fiilling under the denomination 
of Precious Stones, such as Amber, Coral, 
Lava, Ivor}', etc.. The substances given 
under each of these grades will scratch all 
those substances classified under subsequent 
grades, and the ancients engraved them all 
save tlie Diamond, and the art of engraving 
that was discovered liy Ambrosius Cara- 
dossa, A. I)., 1500. We will now proceed 
Avith the consideration of the Diamond, the 
first in the above order. 

The Diamond, by unanimous consent, is 
placed at the head of all gems, and this rank 
it has always held. It was named by the 
Greeks, " adamant," from two words signi- 
fying " unconquerable." This title was 
given it from its hardness, it being then sup- 
posed indestructiljle in its atoms, though it 
might be reduced to atoms by the hammer, 
or otherwise. But the magical electric cur- 
rent reduced this hardest of substances to 
mere gaseous products — though it had be- 
fore that been somewhat volatilized in the 
focus of the great lens of Cosmo HI, Grand 
Duke of Tuscany, in the middle of the seven- 
teenth century. The degree of temperature 
required for its combustion is 5,000 degrees, 
Fahrenheit. It is just three and a half times 
as heavy as an equal bulk of water. Its re- 
fractive power exceeds that of any other 
body, and thus endows it with its extraordi- 
nary brilliancy. It seems however to incor- 
porate light within itself, or to be phospho- 
rescent, as it will at times emit rays of light 
of its own in total darkness. This light is 
oftener observed upon rubbing the stone 
with the finger, or with any silk, woolen, or 
fur substance. It is a non-conductor of elec- 
tricity, and is not acted upon by any solvent. 



JEWELRY AND THE PRECIOUS STONES. 



The Diamond has never been found in 
rocks, as are all other minerals, but only 
in gravel and mud conglomerations in 
beds of rivers, in deep ravines on the 
slopes of mountains, and in cavities and 
■water courses on the summits of, sometimes, 
the loftiest elevations ; and hence it is be- 
lieved to be the product of vegetable secre- 
tion. This supposition is eontirmed b^' the 
results of the experiments upon it, which 
seem to demonstrate it to be pure erystalized 
carbon. The primitive form of the J)ianiond 
is the regular octohodron, or two four sided 
pyramids, whose sides are equilateral trian- 
gles, placed base to base. Diamonds are gene- 
rally found nearly colorless and those that 
are entirely so are most esteemed. They have 
been found however rose-colored, yellow, 
blue, green, red, gray, brown, and even 
black. But the latter are extremely rare. 
When cohu-ed, it is by the presence of some 
adventitious substance, as by the oxides of 
iron, manganese, nickel, chromium, etc.. 
Those Diamonds, which are only tinged with 
the various colors, are of less value than 
those colored deeply. 

The modes of testing the Diamond are 
various. The most convenient are, submit- 
ting them to a white heat, and rubliing them 
with a pointed Sappiiire. They will undergo 
the former test without melting and the 
latter witliout being scratched ; and the Sap- 
phire is the second in the order of hardness 
as we have above stated, and Avill scratch 
every other substance but the Diamond. 

Frequent attempts have been made to pro- 
duce the Diamond through artificial chemical 
processes, but without the least success. 

The two principal regions yielding the 
Diamond are portions of Ilindostan and 
Brazil. At "present the latter country yields 
most of these gems, though the most ccle- 
l)rated now existing were produced by the 
former. AVe say celebrated, since, from 
the fact that Diamonds are tlic gems spe- 
cially a|)propriated by monarchs and nobles, 
and the M'eaithiest of the people, many of 
them are subjects of historic fame. Indeed 
more than once a large Diamond has affected 
the fate of an Asiatic kingdom. 

Diamonds were first found in Brazil in 
1738, and during that same year it is stated, 
in tiie history of the period, that about eighty 
j^ounds avoirdupois (!) wore taken to Europe 
by the Portuguese. This statement must l)e 
taken doubtlessly cum grano, or rather with 
a great many f/vains, if not indeed pounds, of 
allowance. They were however brought in 
sufficient quantities to alarm those in posses- 
sion of the alreadj' discovered Diamonds, and 
they disseminated the worst slanders against 
the new stones, alleging that they were less 
hard than the Oriental ones, and calling them 
contemptuously Portuguese Diamonds. But 



they came forth unscathed from the most 
searching tests, and pulilic opinion was at 
last obliged to acknowledge their legitimacy. 

They still continue to be found in Brazil 
in considerable quantities, and the pursuit 
constitutes a large and important business. 
The Diamonds are found in a loose gravel, 
consisting fu'incipally of rounded (juartz peb- 
bles, mixed with sand and oxide of iron, 
and accompanied with blue, yellow and white 
tojiiizes. 

In the centre of the Diamond region 
is the town of Diamantina; situated upon 
the Rio Preto, a branch of the Trapajos, 
itself one of the great Southern tribu- 
taries of tiie Amazon. This region consists 
of broken highlands, constituting the divi- 
ding ridge between the streams flowing 
North into the Amazon, and those running 
South into the La Plata. Up to the year 1849, 
it had yielded ten million dollars worth of 
these stones ; and it is now said to produce 
about fifteen thousand carats per annum, less 
than a tenth of which however is fit for 
jewelry. Its climate is very unhealthy, and 
lias already cost Brazil the lives of one hun- 
dred thousand men. 

Tlie expenses of living in Diamantina are 
excessively high ; the various species of mer- 
chandise bringing eight hundred per cent, 
advance on their price at Para. Traders be- 
tween these two places exchange their goods 
for Diamonds and gold, for the latter also 
exists most abundantly in this region, and 
return to Par,!, after an eight months' alj- 
sence, with a realized profit of five hundred 
per cent, on their original outlay. 

The principal Indian mines are named 
Raolconda, Gani, Soumelpour and Sacca- 
dan, and are located in the kingdoms of Gol- 
contla, Yisapour and Bengal, and iu the 
island of Borneo. The first of thes^e is rocky: 
the second terraqueous ; and the other two 
are sandy or river mines. 

In tiie first, the Diamonds are washed out 
of earthy and gravely matter, that' is drawn 
by hooked iron insfci-umeiits iroui the fissures 
in tiie rocks, into wliich this matter had been 
carried by rains or desiccated streams. 

In the second they are waslied in sieves 
from certain eartliy and vegetable deposits, 
lying about twelve feet Iteueatii the surface 
of the ground. In these mines the stones 
are generally found enveloped in earthy 
lumps. 

Tlie workers iu these mines, men, women 
and children, are all slaves, — the overseers 
alone being freemen, — and, while at work, 
must be perfectly nude, with the exception 
of a strip of clotli round the loins. And yet, 
despite all precautions, the workers some- 
times secrete these stones, by swallowing 
them, by hiding them in ulcers, and by secre- 
ting them in the corners of their eyes. As 



JEWELRY xVND THE PRECIOUS STONES. 



an incentive to activity and ftiitlifulness, 
every slave, on finding a Diamond of pre- 
scribed weight, is pronounced free, and may 
go where and engage in what he chooses. 
The required weij^it differs perhaps in each 
mine ; but both in Asia and South America 
it varies not under fifteen nor above twenty 
carfits. 

The mine of Soumelpour is nigh a town of 
the same name. This town, lying on the 
banks of the river Gouel, is large and the 
houses are built of earth, covered with cocoa- 
nut-tree branches. The Diamond-hunting 
period at this place and at Saccadan is im- 
mediately after the rainy season in Decem- 
ber. The stones are obtained by sifting the 
I'iver-sands. In each of the above-named 
mines, from fifty to sixty thousand persons 
are employed. 

The other Asiatic mines of less importance 
are in the central and southern part of India 
proper, and in the peninsula of Malacca. 

The Brazilian Diamond districts are in 
Government hands, and are worked on the 
same general plan with the Indian. 

Full particulars of the stringent measures 
adopted in the former country, throughout 
the whole Diamond district, to prevent the 
stones from being taken unlawfully out of the 
boundaries, may be found in the Travels of 
Doctors Von Spix and Von Marlins, made in 
Brazil, by the command of the King of Ba- 
A^aria.* The whole region is marked out by 
a cordon, encircling it, extending many 
miles. 

Diamonds have also been found in con- 
glomerates of recent volcanic origin, called 
geologically amygdaloids; in gold and plati- 
num sands in the Ural mountains; and one is 
reported to have been found lately in Vir- 
ginia ; and another in the district of Fer- 
managh, in Ireland. And, as they are com- 
monly found wherever gold exists, it is not 
unlikely that they will eventually be dis- 
coveretl in quantities in various quarters of 
our widely extended territories, (particularly 
in California,) in Australia, and in Africa. 
Indeed mention is made in the classical 
authors of Diamonds received from the latter 
country. 

The Diamond when found possesses by no 
means the brilliancy for which it is famous. 
In its natural state it is not even transparent 
— it is at best but translucent. To art, 
therefore, it owes in a great degree its re- 
nown: for its tires, which so dazzle the eye, 
are only released by I'emoving the external 
crust, and may indeed after that be greatly 
increased by cutting the stone into peculiar 
shapes. 



* Keise in Brnsilien anf Befehl S'r Magestat Maximilian 
.Tosejih I Koni;^s Yon liaiern. Geniacht uud beschiieben 
Von D'r Von iSpix und D'r Von Marlins. Munich : 1828. 
4to. 



The method of polishing and cutting the 
Diamond was first discovered by Louis de 
Berguem, of Bruges, in 1476. The former 
is done by means of Diamond powder, which 
is obtained by rubbing two Diamonds to-, 
gether — the latter by fragments of Diamond 
set in convenient instruments. The stone to 
be operated on is itself firmly set by cement 
or soft solder in some suitable body, and re- 
quires a different setting to produce each 
facet. A facet is the name of any one ex- 
ternal ^Z««e upon the Diamond. 

The sliape of these planes or facets is gene- 
rally triangular and quadrangular, in con- 
sequence of course of the shape of the whole 
Diamond, which is required to be of a certain 
peculiarity, which, it is believed, is that 
which renders the Diamond in the highest 
degree brilliant. This shape will be described 
presently. 

These operations (of polishing and cut- 
ting) are generally performed over a small, 
strongbox, which serves to retain the powder 
that may be produced by abrasion as well as 
the fragments that result from cutting. 
These pieces are called technically hort. 

The first polished stone is said to have be- 
longed to Charles the Bold, and many ro- 
mantic stories are related of it. 

The last census of the United States in- 
forms us that there are twenty-eight lapi- 
daries in its territories — sixteen of whom 
are in New York, nine in Rhode Island, 
two in Massachusetts, and one in New 
Jerse}'. But throughout the whole world 
the only Diamond-cutter of eminence at 
the present day (we mean to whom the cut- 
ting of a stone of extraordinary size would 
be entrusted) is M. Coster, of Amsterdam, if 
we except one of growing reputation in 
Paris, whose name we cannot recall. AVithin 
late years the steam-engine has been em- 
ployed at Amsterdam to do a great portion 
of the cutting. 

The shape, as yet discovered, which ren- 
ders the Diamond the most effective in its 
lustre, is called the Brilliant, and was first 
adopted about a century and a half ago. 
This shape, in the absence of engravings, we 
will attempt to describe for the benefit of 
those readers who have not met with stones 
of sufficient size to have been the subjects of 
careful cutting. The Brilliant is of the 
shape of two pyramids, whose bases are hec- 
cadeeagons, or sixteen sided, placed base to ^ 
base, the upper half (in altitude) of one of 
which pyramids has been first cutoff; the 
other pyramid is left complete, or at most is 
deprived of its vertex or mere tip. The 
truncated pyramid is the one which is pre- 
sented to the view when the Diamond is set 
in any piece of jewelry, the perfect pyramid 
being behind or under. The truncated and 
the perfect pyramid are called respectively 



JEWELRY AND THE PRECIOUS STONES. 



the table and the collet, and their line of 
unison, or, what is the same thinj^, the pe- 
rimeter of eithei-'s base, is called the (/irdle. 
The \:xr'^(i»t facet on the 1>kii,liant is the 
plane of di.^section of the upper half of that 
pyramid of vvhicli the table is formed, which 
facet, we have already said in effect, is that 
prominently exposed to view. '\^\\\s facet is a 
regular octagon — so is the minute one pro- 
duced by the abscission of the vertex of the 
other pyramid — the other facets upon the 
vemnining surface of the two pyramids, or 
ratiier what is left of the same, are all quad- 
rangular and triangular. 

First, as to the table : this contains eight 
fi({\vAYe facets, the dagonals of which, as they 
are arranged, form an imaginary perfect 
octagon, parallel with that really produced 
by the truncation of the pyramid. One side 
of the OQi-A^ow facet , one side of one square 
facet, and one side of the adjacent square 
facet form a triangular yace/, and thus in all 
are formed eight triangular facets. Now 
there are still sixteen more triangular /«ce^5 
about the table. They are formed as follows. 
As the square facets, united diagonally 
around the table, incline to each other, the 
angles formed outside of them by the con- 
junction of their corners, are much more ob- 
tuse below, or next to the girdle, than above. 
In order therefore not to reduce unneces- 
sarily the size of the stone, it is not ground 
down to one triangular plane between one 
lower side of one Rquarey«ce/, the uniting 
lower side of an adjacent sq\\a.vQ facet, and 
one-eiglith of the girdle, but to two triangu- 
lar planes, each of which two has one side 
that is identical, one side formed respectively 
by the two adjacent square J'acets, and the 
thii'd side by a sixteenth of the girdle. Thus 
are formed upon the surface of the table six- 
teen triangular /«ce^5 below the eight square 
facets. These sixteen, the eight square ones, 
and the eight upper triangular ones before 
described, and the large octagon shaped 
facet, forming in all thirty-three, embrace 
the whole external surface of the table. 

Second, as to the collet. This, when not at 
all truncated, contains around the vertex 
eight lozenge shaped facets, whose upper 
sides (we speak of the collet as a pyramid) 
are all united. The spaces between the 
lower sides of the lozenges and the girdle are 
ground into sixteen triangular /J/^e/.?, in the 
same manner as in the table. The eight lower 
corners of the lozenges unite upon the girdle 
with the eight lower corners of the squares, 
and the sixteen lower triangles in the table 
all abut on the sixteen triangles in the collet. 
Now the vertex of the collet is generally cut 
off; this produces a small octagonal jace^, 
and at the same converts the lozenge shaped 
facets into pentagon shapes. Thus the collet 
is included in twenty-five planes. 



The Avhole surface of the Brilliant is 
then divided as follows: two octagons, eight 
squares, eight pentagons, and forty triangles 
— in all tifty-eight /teceis; and the girdle i» 
a perfect heccadecagon. 

The Brilliant is generally set in open 
work which attaches only at intervals at the 
girdle, allowing the light to enter under the 
stone. Thus the Brilliant when set ex- 
poses the thirty-three y«ce^s of the table, and 
reveals, through its large octagon y«ce^, the 
small octagon y<u-e/ of the collet, and the eight 
pentagons springing therefrom. It is a very 
beautiful mode of cutting, it must be con- 
fessed, and we doubt much if a superior form 
will ever be elicited. 

When the stone in its natural state resem- 
bles more in shape a single cone than two 
conjoined at the base, or, to use a plainer 
simile, is more like the half of an egg, than 
a whole one, it is apparent how great a pro- 
portion of its bulk must needs be removed to 
give it the Brilliant shape. In such case 
then it is ground to the. Rose pattern. This 
is a simple pyramid, whose base is a perfect 
dodecagon, and whose surface is cut into 
twenty-four equilateral triangles which are 
also nearly equal in area. They are thua 
arranged : six of them have each an angle in 
the centre at the top ; upon the bases of 
these, or the sides opposite the angles at the 
centre, abut six other triangles, whose ver- 
tices reach the base of the stone. The six 
triangular spaces, between the latter six 
triangles, are ground each into two equal 
triangles. Thus the Rose is covered with 
twenty-four, nearly equal, equilateral, trian- 
gular yace/.?, and the base is a single plane 
with twelve equal sides. The upper portion 
of the surface, consisting of the six triangles 
around the centre, is called the crown; the 
remainder, consisting of eighteen triangles, 
is called the teeth. 

A Diamond of unusual superficial extent 
in proportion to li^i depth is polished upon its 
flat surfaces, and the edge is ground to any 
regular shape best adapted to the natural 
conformity of the stone, whether it be made 
round, oval, square, or any other regular 
form. This style of cutting is called the 
Table, and is the last we have to describe. 

Of three Diamonds of equal weight and 
purity cut respectively in the Brilliant, the 
Rose, and the Table form, the first exceeds 
in value the rest, and the Rose rates higher 
than the Table. 

The cutting and polishing of the Diamond 
involves a loss of nearly one-half of its 
weight ; and, according to a rule we will 
give presentl}^ a cut Diamond weighing 
any certain number of carats is worth 
about three times as much as an uncut one 
of the same weight, and to the value of the 
former must be added the cost of cutting, 



10 



JEWELRY AND THE PRECIOUS STONES. 



■which -will make its actual worth about 
quadruple the latter. 

Diamonds are estimated in value according 
to their weight, purity of water, regularity, 
fulness of form, and freedom from specks, 
veins, and flaws. Specks generally consist 
of grains of red or black sand embedded in 
the stone. By flaws are meant indentations 
in the surface — and water signifies colour — 
the first water meaning white. These im- 
perfections are sought for at night by the 
dealers and cutters in the Indies. European 
lapidaries prefer making their close exami- 
nations in the day-light. 

The universal standard by which the Dia- 
mond is weighed is the carat. This was 
formerly exactly equivalent to four grains, 
Troy weight, even beam ; for the stone was 
not allowed to decline a hair's breadth. But 
the carat now is never of the full weight 
of four grains. The word is said to have 
been derived from ktiara, a species of bean of 
remarkable equipouderance, which serves, it 
is further stated, in Africa and India to 
weigh gold dust and Diamonds. But we 
cannot credit that so uncertain a substance 
would ever have been adopted as a standard 
to estimate the value of such precious arti- 
cles. In confirmation of this opinion we find 
in Tavernier (whose works will be more par- 
ticularly referred to) that the carat weight is 
unknown all through the East ! lie says at 
Raolconda, Gani, and Yisapour Diamonds 
are weighed by the mangelin, equal to one 
and three-eighths carats : at Soumelpour 
and in the Empire of the Great Mogul by a 
weight called ratis, equal to seven-eighths of 
a carat. Its derivation, more probably, is from 
the Italian verb caratdre, signifying to iceigli 
with great care, to scrutinize. Or possibly 
from the Latin caret, it is wanting ; for the 
carat falls universally short of four grains, its 
original weight. 

The price of uncut Diamonds weighing one 
carat is from seven dollars and a half to ten 
dollars, according to their purit}', shape, &c.; 
that of BRiLLiANT-cut Diamonds from thirty 
to forty dollars. 

RosE-cut Diamonds of one carat are worth 
about half as much as Brilliants of the 
same weight and quality, i. e. from fifteen to 
twenty dollars. 

The universal rule by which Diamonds of 
all sizes, both Brilliant and Rose, are esti- 
mated, is to multiply the square of the weight 
by the above prices. Thus, stones of the 
first water, cut as Brilliants, and weighing 
as follows are estimated as is respectively set 
opposite the weights. 



1 carat. 



X 



\M do \ii X 

2 do 2 X 

S do 3 X 

4 do 4 X 

5 do 5 X 
23 do 25 X 

800 do 300 X 300 X 40 = 3,600,000 



1 X $i0 = 


$40 


13^ X 40 = 


90 


2 X 40 = 


160 


3 X 40 = 


360 


4 X 40 = 


640 


5 X 40 = 


1,000 


25 X 40 =: 


25,000 



One of the latter weight would be of the 
size of a small hen's egg, and would weigh 
about two ounces. There is no satisfactory 
evidence of the existence of a cut Diamond 
of this weight. The above rule is not always, 
adhered to in the valuation of specimens of 
unusual size — as their owners may choose to 
put on them an entirely arbitrary estimate, 
oftentimes much exceeding that deducible 
from our rule. 

An artist named Bourquignon has of late 
years attained great celebrity in Paris for 
his admirable imitations of Diamonds. They 
are made with such perfection as to deceive 
perfectly in the attire of a woman, and can 
only be recognized as false by close examina- 
tion in one's own hands. All other gems 
are also imitated by him with the same 
fidelity. 

Having concluded the consideration of 
Diamonds in general, we will now make par- 
ticular mention of the few of remarkable size 
that have j'et been brought to light. The 
whole number of these weighing more than 
thirty-five carats each does not exceed a 
score. Being then so few in number and so 
remarkable by their value, one would sup- 
suppose that their minutest characteristics 
could be found authentically described in 
the first Encyclopedia referred to, or in any 
fugitive treatise upon the subject. Having 
made the fullest researches ourselves, we 
were surprised to find that practically there 
really exists no such information. In con- 
sequence of the change of possession, and of 
alterations in the cuttings of these stones, 
they have been at successive periods described 
under so many different names, and as of 
weights and shapes so discrepant, as to leave 
the reader, upon the perusal of all the various 
accounts, in the most uncertain state of mind, 
as well in regard to the real number existing 
and their present repositories, as to their 
actual characteristics. The further we push- 
ed our inquiries the more irreconcilable be- 
came the various statements before us, till at 
length we despaired being able to furnish 
any reliable information upon the subject. 

The reader may imagine then how great 
must have been our satisfaction on being 
shewn at this very juncture an immense 
6crin containing the most perfect models of 
these famous gems. These models are of 
recent execution, and, we believe, may be 
relied on as entirely authentic. They are 
moulded from the finest paste, and are 
themselves of great beauty and value. In 
all things, save in degree of brilliancy and 
hardness, they are exact reproductions of the 
originals as they now appear. The spectator 
can see at a glance the size, shape, and exact 
hue of every Diamond of mark known to the 
world, and may learn, further, its name, 
weight, etc., from a label attached to its 
model here. 



JEWELRY AND THE PRECIOUS STONES. 



11 



This valuable and interestinn; series is in 
the possession of a Lady of Philadelphia, of 
whose rich Collection of works of Art and 
curiosities, it constitutes indeed, costly as it 
is, but an insio-nifioant item. Both we and 
the readers of the following descriptions owe 
her many thanks for the free use of it she 
has accorded us ; as it has been of essential 
ini"port to tlie interest and proper treatment 
of our subject. 

When we reflect how numerous are the 
peculiarities of these stones, and'wiiat extra- 
ordinary interest at the Courts of Europe it 
must have required to have invested the 
modeling artist with the possession, but for 
a moment, of these almost priceless gems, 
and that the exact tinge of each, and its in- 
numerable little facets have been all faith- 
fully reproduced, it is easy to comprehend 
that even these factitious stones are of great 
value and beauty. And, after all, value and 
beauty are but relative terms — a remark, 
the force of which becomes more apparent 
by an admirable and readily suggested 
simile : the cordial manners, refined graces, 
and the engaging and brilliant conversa- 
tion of, exempli gratia, the lady we have 
referred to, sparkling from their solid 
setting — good sense and perfect taste — con- 
stitute a, parure of charms, which lends her 
ten thousand times more lustre than would a 
garniture of the regal gems themselves of 
which we speak — exceeding them intrin- 
sically in value as much as they in their turn 
surpass the "Faux brillants et morceaux de 
verve," upon which we will now proceed to 
base our descriptions of the originals. 

The natural order, in which they should be 
considered, seems to be that of their actual 
size. 

Tlye first of these without contradiction is 
that belonging to the Emperor of Russia, and 
set in his sceptre. Its shape, color, and an 
approximation to its size can be readily given 
to the readei', as well upon the authorit}' of the 
model before us, as of numerous, authentic, 
concurrent descriptions of it. It is RosE-cut, 
and of a perfect shape excejit that its base 
has not been ground to a plane. It resem- 
bles very much in form, and is nearly the 
size of, the pointed half of a hen's egg, ex- 
cept that its surface is covered with facets 
instead of being of a spherical character. 
It is nearly colorless, and its diameter in any 
direction is about an inch and a quarter. 
Facilities for weighing it, it appears, have 
not been so great as for insjiecting it, and we 
are unable to give any positive information 
thereupon. Suffice it to say in justification 
of the rank we accord it here, that its worst 
detractors admit its weight to be not less 
than one hundred and ninety-three carats, 
which exceeds considerably that of anj^ other 
we will be called on to notice. It i^ proper 



to state too that several writers assert that it 
far exceeds these figures. One of these au- 
thorities is the Encyclopedia Britannica. 
The date of its acquisition by Russia, or near 
it, may be found in that of a letter from the 
Hague, dated January 2nd, 1770, quoted 
by Boyle in the " Museum Britannicum," 
from which the following is an extract : 
" We learn from Amsterdam that Prince 
Orloff made one day's stay in that city, 
where he bought a very large Brilliant for 
the empress, his sovereign, for which he paid 
to a Persian merchant there the sum of 
one million, four hundred thousand Dutch 
florins." The writer, "it will be observed, 
speaks of it as a Brilliant : this, however, is 
but a loose form of expression, synonimous 
in this instance with Diamond. The " em- 
press" was the Empress Catharine II. The 
Dutch florin is equivalent to about thirty- 
seven of our cents, giving us the cost of the 
gem in our money as five hundred and 
eighteen thousand dollars. Other authorities 
state that in addition to this sura was given 
an annuity of about twenty thousand of our 
dollars, and a patent of nobility. 

The history of this Diamond dates au- 
thentically from the middle of the last cen- 
tury. It was the greatest jewel in the pos- 
session of Nadir Shah, King of Persia, better 
known by the name of Kouli-Khan, which 
name he discarded in favor of the former, 
after his self-elevation to the throne. He 
was the greatest conqueror of the century in 
Asia, and extended his sovereignty as far 
East as Delhi, subverting the kingdom of the 
Great Mogul, which had flourished pre- 
eminently among Asiatic Governments ever 
since the date of its foundation by the great 
Tamerlane. Mahommed Shah, the fourteenth 
in descent from Tamerlane, after a stubborn 
resistance, surrendered to Nadir Shah on the 
8th of March, 1739. The Persian Monarch 
only remaineil in Delhi long enough to collect 
the immense treasures that had been accumu- 
lating there for centuries — the value of which 
was estimated by the Persian chroniclers at 
one hundred and fifty millions of dollars ! 
This mass of booty, containing doubtlessly 
the Diamond under notice, was carried back 
with him to Khorassan. 

In the year 1747, Nadir was assassinated, 
and for some time succeeding his death the 
kingdom was torn by intestine wars. The 
abrupt and violent termination of his Govern- 
ment, and the confusion consequent there- 
upon, wore the cause of much loss to the 
Crown; parts of which loss were the two cele- 
brated Diamonds that had been in its posses- 
sion, and were known to be the largest that 
had ever been discovered. These Avere car- 
ried ofif by the Aifghans, who, being in high 
favor at Court, had unusual opportunities for 
so doing. 



12 



JEWELRY AND THE PRECIOUS STONES. 



A Chief of this band brought one of these 
stcmes, that now under notice, to Bassora, 
and sold it to Shafrat, the millionaire of that 
country and epoch. He kept his purchase a 
profound secret for many years, and then 
ventured upon a journey into Europe: ex- 
tending his excursion as far West as Amster- 
dam, he there offered his jewel for sale. Its 
purchase was nearly effected by an agent of 
the British Government, when Count Gre- 
gory Orloff on behalf of the Russian Empress 
outbid him, and bore off the matchless gem 
to S:>int Petersburg. Much of interest in 
regard to this Diamond may be found in 
" J'icturesfrom Saint Petersburg," published 
about five years ago by Jerrman, the Ger- 
man tragedian. This, it maybe worthwhile 
to mention, is the stone concerning which is 
generally narrated the fabulous story of the 
theft of a Diamond eye from an Indian 
idol, by a French, and sometimes Irish, 
soldier. 

The second in order is that called " The 
Grand Duke of Tuscany's." The weight of 
this is one hundred and thirty-nine carats. 
In beauty of shape and purity of water it 
exceeds all others remarkable for size. It is 
al)solutGly colorless, and is cut as a Brilliant 
of the most perfect symmetry. It is about 
an inch and a half in diameter at the girdle, 
and about an inch deep. This is said to be 
the same stone, now in possession of the Em- 
peror of Austria, called " The Maximilian." 
But, on the other hand, a statement now be- 
fore us describes " The Maximilian" to be of 
a lemon coloi", and Rose-cut, although the 
same account represents it further as " cut 
on all sides facet-wise." 

The next in size is that called the "Re- 
gent" of France, and sometimes the " Pitt" 
Diamond. Its weight is one hundred and 
thirty-six and three-fourths carats. It is 
cut as a Brilliant, is of admirable shape, 
but of a blue tinge. Its diameter at the 
girdle is about an inch and a quarter, and 
its depth about an inch. It was said to have 
been found in Malacca, and was sent to 
England in 1702 by Thomas Pitt, grand- 
father of the Right Hon. William Pitt. He 
was at the time Governor of Fort Saint 
George, Madras. lie stated in a letter pub- 
lished in the London Daily Post, dated No- 
vember 3rd, 1743, that he bought it of a na- 
tive merchant named Jamchuud, for 48,000 
pagodas. The pagoda is about a dollar and 
half of our money. It was purchased for 
Louis XV of France, in 1748, for £135,000, 
w^hich is about its value, according to the 
mode of calculation we have before laid 
down, estimating a single carat of the quali- 
ty of this Diamond at $35. A commission 
of French jewelers, however, in 1791, esti- 
mated it arbitrarily at twelve million francs. 
It was worn by Napoleon in the handle of 



his sword, and still remains among the 
Royal Jewels of France. 

The fourth in the order of weight is the 
"Etoile du Sud." This is of recent dis- 
covery, and is the largest ever found in Bra- 
zil. It came to light in the month of July, 
1853, and was purchased by the Messieurs 
Halphen of Paris, who are still its owners. 
Its weight when found was two hundred and 
fifty-four and a half carats. Its shape is 
good, and will cut advantageously. Several 
months ago it was laid before the Academy 
of Sciences for inspection, and was pro- 
nounced to be of the purest water, and ex- 
empt from blemish of any description. It is 
now undergoing the process of cutting by M. 
Coster, of Amsterdam. When completed its 
weight will be between one hundred and 
twenty and one hundred and thirty carats. 

The fifth in size is " The Koh-i-noor," 
in possession of the British Queen. This 
Diamond has, thanks to the officious and 
extensive Press both in England and the 
United States, made an undue sensation in 
latter years, as we think any one will be in- 
clined to admit upon a mental comparison of 
its weight and appearance, as we will de- 
scribe them, with those of the first three al- 
ready spoken of. It exceeded, it is true, in 
weight, but in that respect alone, the Duke' 
of Tuscany's and the Regent, at the time of 
its exposition in the Crystal Palace at Lon- 
don. It was however almost devoid of shape. 
That it did not possess any beauty as an 
ornament, at least in that respect, may be 
surmised, when we state that its conforma- 
tion Avas, as near as possible, that of the hulk 
of a vessel, one of whose stern corners had 
been completely sliced off. So uncouth was 
its appearance that it was determined to 
have it recut. This operation was " com- 
menced in August, 1852, at London, under 
the supervision of the most eminent artists 
from Amsterdam; and so mis-shapen was the 
object of ther skill, that they were put to the 
necessity of sacrificing eighty-three and a 
quarter carats of its weight before they could 
reduce it to symmetry. This recutting occu- 
pied thirty-eight days of labor. Its present 
weight is exactly one hundi'ed and two and 
thirteen-sixteenths carats, as we find stated 
by Professor J. Tennant in a paper read be- 
fore a late meeting of the British Association 
for the Advancement of Science. Before the 
last cutting it was nearly two inches in 
length, about an inch in breadth, and three- 
fourths of an inch in depth. It is slightly 
tinged with a yellow color. 

The authentic history of this Diamond, 
like that of the Russian Emperoi-, dates only 
from Nadir Shah. It had doubtlessly been 
obtained by him in one of his numerous ex- 
peditions to India — probably in the first, of 
which we spoke more particularly in our ac- 



JEWELRY AND THE PRECIOUS STONES. 



13 



count of the Russian Diamond. In June, 1747, 
Nadir, as we have before stated, was assassi- 
nated by his subjects, partly from jealousy of 
the Aif<:;hans, who were in sueli favor at 
Cour't. One of this race, of the Abdallec Tribe, 
Ahmed Shall, had acted as Nadir's Treasurer, 
and, upon liis assassination, was obliged to 
withdraw with his countrymen from Persia. 
The Affghans, thouo-h beset and intercepted 
on all sides, safely fought tiieir Avay out of 
the kingdom, Ahmed carrying with hiin the 
Koh-i-noor. At the head of his band he per- 
formed many daring achievements, and at 
length became the founder of a new empire 
in the kingdom of Cabul. lie proved to 
be one of the greatest warriors of the age, 
^ud carried on with prodigious success nu- 
merous wars of conquest, by which vast trea- 
sures were amassed. He also subjected llin- 
dostan among other countries, and carried 
back a great deal of plunder. Upon his 
death (of cancer in the face), in June, 1773, 
the Koh-i-noor was found among the royal 
jewels, and desceudcd to his son, Timoor 
Shah, whose death occurred May 20th, 1793. 
A younger son of Timoor, Shah Zemaun, 
succeeded as king, but was soon driven from 
the throne by Mahmood, his half brother, 
who had received the aid of Futteh Alii 
Shah, King of Persia. Shah Zemaun in his 
flight took with him the Koh-i-noor, and in 
his retreat stopped with a few retainers for 
refreshment at the Castle of Moolah Aushik, 
a dependent of iiis. He received them hos- 
pitably, but took measures to prevent their 
escape and sentoff a messenger to Mahmood. 
While detained a prisoner here he secreted 
the Koh-i-noor, with some other jewels, in 
the Avail of his apartment. Mahmood soon 
sent a surgeon to him to deprive him of his 
sight, the usual mode of disabling a great 
rival throughout the Eastern nations. His 
ej'es having been pierced with a lancet, he 
was taken to Cabul and put under confine- 
ment. Mahmood, after a short and turbu- 
lent reign, was deposed by a chief named 
Mookhtar-oo-doulah, w^ho had successfull}^ 
fomented a revolution. Mookhtar placed 
upon the throne Shnja Ool Moolk, the full 
brother of Shah Zemaun, whose release was 
the first act of Shuja's reign ; the next was 
to arrest and execute the traitor Moolah 
Aushik, a fate he well deserved. 

The Koh-i-noor was now brought from its 
hiding place, where it had safely remained 
during the reign of Mahmood, and was seen 
in 1808, worn upon the person of Shuja, by 
M'r Elphinstone, British Envoy to the King 
of Cabul. The following is an extract from 
the account of his reception by the King : 

"We thought at first that he had on an 
armour of jewels, but, on close inspection, 
we found this to be a mistake, and his real 
dress to consist of a green tunic, with large 



flowers in gold, and precious stones, over 
which were a large breast-plate of Diamonds, 
shapeil like two flattened fleurs de lis, an or- 
nament of the same kind on each tliigli, large 
emerald bracelets on the arms (above the 
elbow), and many other jewels in different 
places. In one of the bracelets was the 
Koh-i-noor, known to be one of the largest 
Diamonds in the world. There were also 
some strings of very large pearls, put on like 
cross-belts, but loose. The Crown was about 
nine inches high, not ornamented with 
jewels as European crowns are, but to ap- 
pearance entirely formed of those precious 
materials. It seemed to be radiated like an- 
cient crowns, and behind the rays appeared 
peaks of purple velvet ; some small branches, 
with pendants, seemed to project from the 
crown ; but the whole was so complicated 
and so dazzling, that it was difficult to under- 
stand, and impossible to describe."* 

But none of Ahmed Shah's descendants 
possessed a tithe of his ability, and the king- 
dom he founded became more and more dis- 
ordered, until it was subverted, shortly after 
the date of M'r Elphinstone's visit, by the 
victorious chief of the Sikhs, Runjeet Singh. 
Shah Shuja Avas the last of the once poAverful 
Abdallee chiefs who possessed this stone. The 
particulars of its transfer by him to Runjeet 
are thus amusingly furnished in an article 
in the Kew 3Ionihli/ Magazine, made up from 
a leader on the subject in The Times : 

" He put the Shah under strict surveil- 
lance, and made a formal demand of the 
jcAvel. The prince hesitated, prevaricated, 
temporized, and employed all the artifices of 
oriental diplomacy, but in vain. Runjeet 
redoubled the stringency of his measures, 
and at length, the 1st of June, 1813, was 
fixed as the day when this great Diamond 
should be surrendered by the Abdallee chief 
to the ascendant dynasty of the Singhs. 

The two princes met in a room appointed 
for the purpose, and took their seats on the 
ground. A solemn silence then ensued 
Avhich continued unbroken for an hour. At 
length Runjeet's impatience overcame the 
suggestions of Asiatic decorum, and he whis- 
pered to an attendant to quicken the memory 
of the Shah. The dethroned prince spoke not 
a word in reply, but gave a signal Avith his 
eyes to a eunuch in attendance, Avho, retiring 
for a moment, returned Avith a small roll, 
Avhich he set doAvn upon the carpet midway 
between the two chiefs. Again a pause fol- 
lowed, Avhcn, at a sign from Runjeet, the roll 
was unfolded, and there, in its matchless and 
unspeakable ijrilliaucy, glittered the Koh-i- 
noor." 



* An Account of the Kingdom of Caubul. By the flon. 
Mountstuart Elphinstone, of the Honorable Kust India 
Company's service, auU late Envoy to the King of Caubul. 
London: 1S15. 4to. 



14 



JEWELRY AND THE PRECIOUS STONES. 



Thus came this precious stone to Lahore, 
the capital of Runjeet Singh's dominions, 
and, when the Sikh provinces were annexed 
to British India, it followed the train of con- 
quest, and was carried to Bombay, whence 
it was brought, five or six years ago, by 
Colonel Mackeson, Political Agent, and 
Captain Ramsay, IMilitary Secretary of the 
India Governor-General, in the Medea Steam- 
ship, to the distant shores of England. 

Instead of proceeding directly to speak of 
the King of Portugal's Diamond, the next in 
order, we will now interrupt the programme 
for a moment to offer some considerations 
upon the one spoken of by the world at 
large, as " The Great Mogul's," and we do 
so here because its history has connection 
with that of two of the stones that have now 
been described. Three hundred years ago 
reached Europe the fame of a Diamond in 
the possession of the Emperors of Mogul. 
Many fabulous stories were then told of re- 
mote countries like this, and this stone above 
all furnished a subject for a thousand mar- 
vellous narrations. All readers have proba- 
bly met somewhere with the descriptions 
concocted in these times of the throne of 
jewels, of the peacock of gems, and of the 
great Diamond, as large as a goose egg, at 
Delhi. It was not difficult however to gather 
from all these exaggerations that a Diamond 
of greater size than had yet ever been known 
did actually exist in the possession of this 
Eastern monarch, but it was not until a cen- 
tury after its first fiime was bruited, that 
Europe obtained any satisfactory particulars 
regarding it. In the middle of the seven- 
teenth century a Frenchman by birth, named 
Jean Baptiste Tavernier, a person of intelli- 
gence and means, and a great connoisseur in 
jewelry and gems, the trafiio in which be- 
came a perfect passion witli him, made a 
number of prolonged journeys to all parts of 
Asia — the greater portion of a period of forty 
years having been passed by him in this 
then remote country— partly out of love of 
adventure, partly for speculation in the pre- 
cious stones. Ilis observations and adven- 
tures were published in Paris, after his final 
return thither in 16G8, in three volumes pet. 
folio, 1676, and they are among the most 
agreeable and instructive writings of tlie 
kind we have ever met with. 

One of the volumes opens with a profession 
of his penchant for the Diamond : " Le Dia- 
mant est la plus precieuse de toutes les pierres, 
et c'est le negoce auquelje me suis le plus 
attache." 

His narration is, remarkable for an air of 
simplicity and truth pervading it, and is as 
different as possible from the proverbial 
conies de voijar/enrs. His work must have 
demolished many matters of popular belief 
at that period, and, if still read, could serve 



to correct numerous errors yet entertained. 
We ourselves had no idea, for example, of 
the limited extent within which is, and 
always has been, confined the burning of 
widows in India. Tavernier informs us that 
none but those who are childless are ever 
permitted or desire to thus immolate them- 
selves : and even of this class, the proportion 
of which must be exceedingly insignificant, 
he says by no means are all permitted to 
mount their husbands' pyres — a special au- 
thority to do so being required in each in- 
stance from a Government functionary — and 
this permission is not <j<nierulbj accorded ! A 
great portion of Tavernier's works consists 
of accounts of the Diamond mines in Iliu- 
dostan, of the large jewels in possession of 
the monarchs of Persia, Hindostan, and 
other nations, and of his commercial dealings 
in the precious stones. 

It is probable that some of his journeys 
were undertaken on behalf of the King of 
France, as that monarch became the pos- 
sessor of all the remarkable gems brought 
back by Tavernier, making him also " Ecu- 
yer. Baron d'Auboune, en consideration des 
services que le dit Tavernier a rendu k 
I'Etat." 

The edition* we quote from is illustrated 
with many engravings, among which are 
nearly a hundred well executed drawings of 
the remarkable gems that came under his 
observation. The first of these is of the 
exact form of the pointed half of a hen's egg, 
the convex surface of which has been ground 
to innumerable little planes. Tavernier says 
of this (p. 59. Tome IV.) "that it is the 
heaviest Diamond of which I have had any 
acquaintance. It belongs to the great Mogul, 
who did me the honor to have it shown to 
me with all his other jewels. The plate re- 
presents its form since it has been cut, and, 
permission to weigh it being granted ine, I 
found it as heavy as three hundred and nine- 
teen and a half ratis, equal to two hundred 
and seventy-nine and nine-sixteenths of our 
carats. It is precisely of the form of lialf a 
hen's egg." 

The following is a full account of the oc- 
casion of its exhibition to him (pp. 342, 
343. Tome III.): " November 2, 16(35. * * * 
I found in this chamber Akel-Kan, Chief of 
the Treasury of Jewels, who, as soon as he 
saw us enter, commanded four of the King's 
eunuchs to bring in the jewels, which they 
immediately did, upon two great dishes of 
wood lacquered with leaves of gtild, a)id 
covered over with little napkins made ex- 
pressly for the object, the one of red, the 



* Les Six Voyages tie Monsieur J. B. Tavernier, Eeuyer, 
Baron d'Auboniie, en Turquie, en Perse, et anx ludes. 
Nourelle edition. Augmeutee de cartes, et d'estanipes 
curieuses. A Paris. 1721. Aveo approbation et privilege 
du Roy. 6 vols. 



JEWELRY AND THE PRECIOUS STONES. 



15 



other of green embi-oidered velvet. After 
they were uncovered and had been counted 
piece by piece tliree times, a list of them was 
directed to be made out by three secretaries 
in attendance ; fur tlie Asiatics do evcry- 
thipgwith great circumspection and patience. 
The first piece which Akel-Kan placed in my 
hantls ■•vas the great Diamond. It is a round 
Rose and very liigh on one side. By the set- 
ting at the bottom there is a little Haw, and 
there is a smalU speck within. It is of good 
water, and it weighs three hundred and nine- 
teen and a half ratis, making about two 
hundred and eighty of our carats, the ratis 
being equivalent to seven-eighths of a carat." 

It was found in the Gani mines, in tlie 
kingdom of Golconda (Tavernier, p. 18. 
Tome lY.) and, an article in the Spectator 
says, in the year 1550. It could not have 
been earlier than this, as the opening of 
these mines was at about this date, according 
to the French traveller. It Avent immediate- 
ly into the treasures of the Kings of Gol- 
conda, where it remained uncut, but their 
pride, until the reign of Shah .Jehan, of Mo- 
gul, the father of the famous Aureng Zebe. 
Koolub Shah, the then King of Golconda, 
was betrayed by his prime minister and 
chief of his armies, Jdirgimola (spelled at 
times, ]Mecr Jumla), to the jMogul monarch, 
who received of him at the same time 
this Diamond as a present. Shah Jehan 
was deposed by his son Aureng Zebe, and 
it was during the reign of the latter that 
Tavernier saw it, previous to wdiich however 
it had been cut, and very injudiciously, our 
traveller was told. He was informed that its 
weight au naturel had been seven hundred 
and ninety-three and five-cightiis carats ! 
over five hundred carats of which were sacri- 
iiced in the cutting by an unskilful lapidary; 
who was severely punished therefor, we may 
add. 

Aureng Zebe died January 21st, 1707, and 
■was the last powerful monarch on the throne 
of Tamerlane. To him succeeded his son 
Bahadar S!nih, who died in 1712. Johandar 
Shah, the latter's son, followed with a short 
reign of eighteen months. After four or five 
years of revolutions Jehandar's son,Mahum- 
mud Shah mounted the throne, and there 
maintained himself for twenty-one years. 
Up to tliis date the kingdom of Mogul had 
been the most conspicuous in Asia. But 
now, in 1739, like a whirlwind came the con- 
quering Persian monarch. Nadir Shah, with 
his Northern hordes, and in a single cam- 
paign swept from their foundations the time 
lionored institutions of Iliudostan. The 
valuables, that had been amassed at Delhi 
during four hundred years, comprising the 
great Diamond we are descriljing, and many 
(.ihcrs ut' the first rank succeeding that, were 
boni utfin triumidi to the ca[)itai of Persia. 



It remained with Nadir Shah until his 
death ; where is it now ? 

The reader of our last chapter, containing 
a description of the Koh-i-noor, may have 
been somewdiat at a loss to account for the 
great reputation of that Diamond. The 
secret is that it has been identified by the 
British Government and the English jour- 
nals, with the great Diamond of the Em- 
perors of Mogul, the reputation of wiiich has 
pervaded the world for three hundred years. 
With what rightful authority it has been 
thus identified we leave to the intelligent 
reader to answer upon a due consideration 
of the Koh-i-noor's present and late appear- 
ance and weight, and of Tavernicr's descrip- 
tion of the great gem of Mogul, and loitli an 
important fact horn in mind, that another 
Diamond, much heavier than the Koh-i-noor, 
or any other known now to the world, of the 
shape and nearly of the size of the pointed 
half of a hen's egg, with a base or girdle 
somewhat irregular, actually exists in the 
sceptre of the Czar of Russia — the history of 
which is traced just as far back towards 
Delhi as the Koli-i-noor! It is our belief 
indeed that both came from Ilindostan, but 
which is really the one, that had obtained 
so w^orld wide a fame, seems too apparent to 
require argument. In nearly every respect 
the Russian Diamond answers Tavernier's 
description — the Koh-i-noor not in a single 
one. It will hardly be urged that the perfect 
round Rose of Mogul had, after the date of 
Tavernier, undergone a. cutting Avhich left it 
of such an imperfect hulk shape, as to re- 
quire a further cutting and reduction of 
eighty-three and a quarter carats of its al- 
ready vastly diminished weight ! 

A fact rather curious is worthy of mention 
here. The Koh-i-noor, as we have stated, 
before its last cutting in 1852, surpassed in 
weight every Diamond known except the 
Russian. Tavernier gives a drawing of and 
describes as follows the largest Diamond, 
next to that of the iMogul Emperor's, of 
Avhieh he makes any mention: "This is a 
view of a stone w"eighing one hundred and 
seventy-sis and a quarter mangelins, making 
two hundred and forty-two and five-sixteenths 
of our carats. The mangelin, as I have 
said, is the weiglit used in the kingdoms of 
Golconda and Yisapour, and is equivalent to 
one and three-eigliths of our carats. Bein<; 
at Golconda in the year 1042, this stone was 
shewn to me, and it is the largest Diamond 
I have seen in the Indies in the bauds of the 
merchants. The owner permitted me to take 
a cast of it, which I sent to two of my friends 
at Surate, witli a description of the beauty 
of the stone, and the price of it, whicli was 
500,000 rupees, or 750,000 livres of our 
money, (about 150,000 dollars.) I received 
orders from them, in case it was free from 



16 



JEWELRY AND THE PRECIOUS STONES. 



specks and of fine water, to offer 400,000 
rupees for it. But it was impossible for me 
to strike a bargain at that price. I believe 
however that ill could have offered 450,000 
rupees I might have obtained it." 

Tavernier does not state, but there can be 
no doubt from the price asked, and from the 
fact that it was yet at Golconda and in the 
hands of the merchants, that the stone was 
uncut. The sliape of it, as shewn in this 
drawing, is remarkably like that of the Koh- 
i-noor— the figure being oblong with one 
corner sliced off. The difference betAveen 
their weights, two hundred and forty-two and 
five-sixteenths carats and one hundred and 
eighty-six and one-sixteenths carats, (the 
latter being that of the Koh-i-noor before its 
recent improvement,) viz. fifty-six and a 
quarter carats could readily be accounted for 
by a moderate cutting, which is all the Koh- 
i-noor had received, it is clear. 

M'r Elphinstone, though he mentions this 
Diamond more than once in his book, 
nowhere alludes to it as the great Diamond 
of Mogul — indeed he calls it one of the largest 
stones known. 

Although everything we have encountered 
in our researches has confirmed the truth of 
the opinion we have here expressed, we shall 
still offer one other fact which seems strongly 
corroboi-ative of our view. In D'r Feucht- 
wanger's excellent manual, published many 
years ago, long before any European nation 
was supposed to have any interest in the 
Koh-i-noor, we find, amid a mass of practical 
information for the mineralogist and the 
lapidary, a few shreds of historical facts ; 
but, few as they are, they are directly to the 
point we are discussing. In his preface the 
author gives the works of Hlluy, D'r Blum, 
and others of similar reputation as forming 
the basis of his work. The copy* in our pos- 
session gives two views of each of " the two 
celebrffted Diamonds of the Shah of Persia, 
the Dariainur, and the Kuhiur." The former 
is Rose-cut, and answer's Tavernier's descrip- 
tion, the latter is oblong, and accords in 
general character with tiie late appearance 
of the Koh-i-noor. Anotlier paragraph in 
the same book says : " The Diamond former- 
ly beh)nging to Nadir Shah, Sultan of Persia, 
is now in the possession of the Russian 
Crown." Tlie Diamond can mean nothing 
l)ut the largest, the most valuable, one in his 
possession. 

We have then, with an utter unconcern of 
the results of our researches, upon entering 
on them, arrived at the fullest conviction 
that the Koh-i-noor is not the Rose of Mogul, 
and that its identification therewith by 
England is entirely unwarranted. We 



* A Treatise on Gems. By D'r Lewis Feuchtwanger. New 
York. 1S28. 8vo. 



have arrived at the conviction, just aa 
clear, that the Great Diamond of the Great 
Mogul actually rests at the present moment 
in the sceptre of Russia. Here is a specimen 
of the fine English writing that must fiill to 
the ground, if there is any force in our fore- 
going statement of facts: "In this way did 
the Koh-i-noor pass as the Emblem of Do- 
minion from Golconda to Delhi ; from Delhi 
to Mushed; from Mushed to Cabul; from 
Cabul to Lahore ; from Lahore, as the prize 
of Saxon valor, to the shores of England. It 
may with justice be considered to be an Em- 
blem of Prosperity and Dominion ; and, as the 
brightest jewel in Queen Victoria's Crown, 
there can be little doubt of its remaining, 
what it has ever been, a brilliant token of 
power and ascendancy." 

Before entirely dismissing the Russian 
Diamond we will give the origin of the story 
of its theft from the Indian idol, of which 
same romance one of the Crown Jewels of 
France has been made the subject in a letter of 
a French missionary, published in i\\Q Journal 
des Savans, for July, 1774. These stories 
are all unquestionably founded on the fol- 
lowing which we translate from Tavernier, 
(pp. 143, 144. Tome IV:) 

" Jagrenate is the name of one of the 
mouths of the Ganges, upon which is built 
the great Pagoda ; where the Chief Bramin, 
that is the High Priest of the Pagans, holds 
his residence. The Great Idol, which is on 
the altar in the church, has two Diamonds 
for its two eyes, and a collar about its neck, 
which hangs down upon the stomach : the 
least of these Diamonds weighs not less than 
forty carats. Upon its arms are seen brace- 
lets, sometimes of pearls, sometimes of ru- 
bies. This magnificent Idol is called Kesora. 
The revenues of this great Pagoda are suflB- 
cient to feed every day fi'om fifteen to twenty 
thousand pilgrims, for such numbers fre- 
quently assemble, this being the place of the 
greatest devotion in India, drawing crowds 
from all directions. It should be remarked 
that the Jewelers, who are attracted here as 
other people are, are not permitted to enter 
the Pagoda, ever since one of their profession 
contrived to have himself locked in at night, 
and then extracted one of the Diamond eyea 
of the Idol. Upon making his exit in the 
morning, when the Pagoda was opened, he 
fell dead upon the door-sill, through a mira- 
cle, say the natives, of the Idol, in order to 
punish his sacrilege." 

The sixth Diamond of note belongs to the 
King of Portugal, It weighs ninety-three 
and three-quarters carats. It is about an inch 
and a quarter long, by an inch in width and 
in thickness. It is of an extremely irregular 
form, having been but little cut, and is very 
slightly tinged with yellow. The Portuguese 
have spread a report that their gi*eat Diamond 



JEWELRY AND THE PRECIOUS STONES. 



17 



is as large as a hen's egg, and this is believed 
by many. The English en revanche have 
published statements that the Portuguese 
stone is only a topaz. It was obtained l)y 
the Prince Regent of Portugal (afterwards 
Don John VI), when he was in Brazil in 
1808. The slave, who found it, received his 
freedom and a pension for life for himself 
and Lis fi ia^ily. — — . .__ 



be seventh is known by the name of- 
"The Blue Diamond," It is cut as a Bril- 
liant of exquisite shape, and is about an inch 
in diameter and three-quarters of an inch in 
thickness. Its weight is seventy-seven carats. 
It is valued at an unusual price on account 
of its rich blue tint. It is, we understand, 
now in the possession of England, 

The eighth is called " The Pacha of 
Egypt's," and is in his possession. It is of 
very regular form and nearly of the size of 
" The Blue Diamond," It is of the first 
water, and weighs sixty-nine carats. 

The next is known as "The English Lot- 
tery Diamond." It was brought in the lat- 
ter part of the last century to England by 
Earl Piggott, Governor-General of India, and 
was disposed of by lottery in 1801, for 
£30,000. It fell to the lot of a private indi- 
vidual, who sold it, it is believed, to the 
Pacha of Egypt. It is of good form and of 
about the size of a cent. It weighs foi-ty- 
seven and a half carats, and is tinged with 
blue. 

The tenth is the " Saucy Diamond," 
weighing only thirty-three carats, but pos- 
sessing consider.able historic fame. Although 
many very early stories are related of it, its 
authentic career dates from the time of Henri 
Quatre of France. In his reign it Avas in the 
possession of M. Nicolas Harlay de Saucy, 
who sent it by a faithful servant to his 
" uncle," a Jew, at Metz, to raise a loan for 
his sovereign then at war. The servant was 
assassinated not far from Paris, whether be- 
cause he carried this stone, or not, was not 
discovered. M. de Saucy shortly after pro- 
ceeded to the spot of his burial, disinterred 
and opened the body and found the Diamond. 
The faithful Servitor had swallowed it, on 
being attacked, according to his master's 
orders. " The Saucy" is of blue water, and 
of square form, and an inch nearly in size, 
with a thickness of h.alf an inch. Since the 
time of M. de Saucy it has been in the pos- 
session of the French monarchs. 

The eleventh is called " The Polar Star." 
It is of an egg shape, flattened at the sides, 
and nearly an inch long, three-quarters 
broad, and a half thick. It is of the first 
water, and weighs thirty-two carats. This 
stone, we understand, is in the possession of 
France. 

Several of the Diamonds we are now about 
to mention would, probably, in justice pre- 



cede in rank some of the latter ones of the 
foregoing enumeration, but, as their weii;ht8 
and other characteristics have never ))een 
satisfactorily made known to the world, we 
can only give this general account of them. 

A Diamond of an egg shape, with the 
small end indented, is in the possession of 
the Rajahs of Mattan, in Borneo, This ia 
said by some travellers to be tiie largest 
Diamond ever discovered. Several European 
agents have made frequent ineffectual efforts 
to purchase it. 

One called " The Shah," is in possession 
of Russia, It is of an irregular oblong form, 
about an inch in length, and half an inch in 
width and thickness, and of a blue color. 

"The Green Diamond," belonging to the 
King of Saxony, is the largest known of its 
col(>r. It is kept in " The Green Vault," a 
mineralogical museum at Dresden, It was 
bought l)y Augustus the Strong, in Warsaw, 
for sixty thousand thalers. 

The E.ast India House possesses one known 
as " The Nassuc Diamond," which was part 
of the spoil taken in the English war against 
the Mahrattas. It is described as of irregu- 
lar form, but of fine water, 

A conical Diamond of unusual size is in 
possession of Holland ; and a large one, in 
the shape of a pyramid, is among the Por- 
tuguese Crown Jewels. 

The late Duke of York possessed one 
almost black, and of great size and beauty. 

A Diamond about the size of a large hazel- 
nut was found last winter at Manchester, 
near Richmond, Virginia. It is of the first 
water, but holds several black specks in its 
centre. The Ledger stated, at the time, that 
it weighed nineteen carats, and was found 
by a laboring man, in the employ of M'r 
James Fisher, Jr. The Evening Post of April 
28th, 1855, says : 

" We were shown yesterday, on board the 
steamship Jamestown, what is said to be the 
largest Diamond ever discovered in North 
America. It was found several months ago 
by a laboring man named Benjamin Moore, 
at Manchester, Virginia, in some earth which 
he was digging up. The Diamond was put 
in a fufnace for melting iron at Richmond, 
where it remained in a red heat for two 
hours and twenty minutes. It was then 
taken out and found to be uninjured and 
brighter than ever. It was valued in Rich- 
mond at §4,000, The tinder of the prize is a 
poor man with a fiimily," 

The ancients, as we have intimated, at- 
tributed occult and miraculous properties to 
many of the precious stones, as may be seen 
discussed at large in Pliny, and particular 
gems have been marked by their own distin- 
guishing fables. The same notions have 
more or less continued down to times not 
long past. Even a philosopher, so eminent 



18 



JEWELRY AND THE PRECIOUS STONES. 



and modern as Boyle, published a treatise on 
the sanative, and life, health, and beauty 
conservating virtues of the precious stones. 
Thus, a dose, -which he denominates clectua- 
rmm e gemmis, will stave off, he says, the 
approaches of old age. 

Some superstitions and anecdotes relative 
to the Diamond may be worth quoting before 
we take leave of it. 

The Diamond has been regarded as bearing 
a mysterious relation to the Sun ; as setting 
at defiance all subduing and destroying 
agencies, save the solar ray — a tradition 
which seems to have been so powerful as to 
have influenced M'r Boyle to make the at- 
tempt to dissolve it by a powerful lens, an 
experiment, the first, which proved success- 
ful, and the one we have before alluded to 
as performed by the lens of extraordinary 

Eower in the possession of Cosmo III, Grand 
'uke of Tuscany. 

Pliny asserts that the Diamond and the 
magnet are naturally inimical to one another, 
and in mediaeval times the Diamond was con- 
sidered an antidote to poison, a safeguard 
against mania, and even a preservative of 
virtue. The peculiar color of each of the 
precious stones rendered it tlie emblem of 
many things. Thus the Diamond, being 
white, signified light, purity, faith, innocence 
and virginity. 

The London Atlienceum in a late article 
stated that in ancient wicked times it was 
used to detect infidelities ; that, if placed 
upon the head of a slumbering wife, it would 
compel the sleeper to betray the secrets of 
the bosom. The mode of this self-disclosure 
we find described in an old book, by Thomas 
Nicols* : 

" If a true Diamond be put upon the head 
of a woman without her knowledge, it will 
make her in her sleep, if she be faithful to 
her husband, to cast herself into his em- 
braces; but, if she be an adulteresse, to turn 
away from him." 

This is a philosophical superstition that 
mighc be safely believed in, we should ima- 
gine ; we should not be surprised indeed if 
the actions described would duly ensue with- 
out the use of the Diamond. 

The sangfroid of the husband, our " some 
times" Cantab, does not appear to have be- 
lieved susceptible of influence, and the bold- 
ness and frequency with which these gems are 
presented nowadays to the wife at various re- 
curring fetes seem to confirm the correctness 
of this view. Master Nicols says further, 
" that it is esteemed powerful for the driving 
away of Incubos and Succubos." 

Tlie Jewish Rabbis say that Eve, on quit- 



ting Paradise, had her ears bored in token of 
her subjection to man. On this a commenta- 
tor remarks that the women have revenged 
themselves for this sign of degradation by 
compelling the men to suspend to their ears 
Diamonds and other costly stones, which 
they must procure by wearisome toil. 

The sign of subjection should have been 
the complete excision of the ear, and we 
remember that, at Trimalcyon's feast, one of 
the revellers says that, as his wife's Diamonds 
have absorbed nearly his whole estate, if he 
ever has a daughter he will cut off her ears 
at her birth, to avoid first his own utter ruin, 
and, secondly, that of her future husband. 

It seems rather strange that in so cele- 
brated a crown as that of Saint Stephen's of 
Hungary, Avhich has always served at the 
coronation of the Austrian monarchs, there 
should have been no Diamonds. It is de- 
scribed as being of pure gold, ornamented 
Avith one emerald, fifty rubies, fifty-three sap- 
phires, and three hundred and thirty-eight 
pearls, weighing in all fourteen pounds. This 
is the crown that was stolen during the late 
Hungarian insurrection, and has never since 
been found : the coronation of tlie Emperor 
of Austria seems consequently to be indefi- 
nitely postponed. 

The Crown of England is composed of 
Diamonds and Pearls, chiefly of the former, 
of which there are about seventeen hundred, 
valued altogether at half a million dollars. 

Russia has always been noted for the dis- 
play of Diamonds made by its noble classes. 
The following are brief extracts from " The 
Life of Prince Potemkin,"* a successor, in 
the affections of Catharine II, of that same 
Prince Gregory Orloff, who bought her the 
large Diamond from Persia : 

" At the same time her Majesty adorned 
his neck with a Diamond collar, of the order 
of Saint Alexander, worth 60,000 roubles." — 
(p. 187.) 

" She sent him 100,000 roubles in gold; 
a crown of laurels made of emeralds set with 
superb Diamonds, and valued at 150,000 
roubles; and ordered three gold medals to be 
struck to his honor." — (p. 214.) 

" The Prince handed the Empress from 
her coach. lie was dressed in a scarlet coat, 
over which hung a long cloak of gold lace, 
ornamented with precious stones. lie wore 
as many Diamonds as a man can wear in his 
dress. Ilis hat, in particular, was so loaded 
with them that he was obliged to have it car- 
ried by one of his aides-de-camp." — (p. 230.) 

But when we read the following it causes 
us to wonder at the real profusion of Dia- 



* A Lapidary: or the History of Tretious Stones. By 
Thomas Nicola. Sometiuies in Jesus Coliedge in Cam- 
bridge. Cambridge, 1052. 4to. 



* Slemoirsof the Life of Prince Potemkin, Field Marshal, 
&c., Ac. Compreheiidiug original anecdotes of Catharine 
the Second and of the Ilussian Court. Translated from 
the (jierman. London. 1812. Svo. 



JEWELRY AND THE PRECIOUS STONES. 



19 



monds actually existing. It is a list of tliose 
presented by Catliarine II to her various fa- 
vorites. We collate it froi:» a work of high 
interest.* 

To AV'asielitsehikoff Diamonds of the v.alue 
of ^00,(100 roubles. To ZawadotTsky, Dia- 
mo'nds -worth 80,000 rouljles. To Zoritz, 
Diamonds worth 200,000 roubles. To Kor- 
zakoff, Diamonds worth 50,000 roubles. To 
Lanskoi, Diamonds worth 80,000 roubles. 
To Yermoloff, Diamonds worth 80,000 rou- 
bles. To Plato Zouboff, Diamonds worth 
100,000 roubles. 

The value of those presented to the five 
brothers Orhjfi", and to Potcmkin and some 
others, is not particularly stated, but it far 
exceeded the total of those sums we have 
enumerated. The Jewels and other presents 
showered upon her lovers by this munifi- 
cent sovereign is estimated in this book at 
88,820,000 roubles! 

Amongst the Russian Treasures at JMoscow 
are three crowns, first, that of Peter the 
Great, containing 887 large Diamonds ; 
second, Ivan's, 841 Diamonds ; and third, 
the Imperial Crown, with over 2,500 large 
Diamonds. There are also two saddles of the 
Empress Catharine II, completely covered 
with Diamonds. 

The French Crown Jewels have just been 
overhauled, some new set, and tlie whole 
exposed in the Great Exhibition now open in 
Paris. An inventory of them has also been 
published, from which we collate some in- 
teresting fixcts. The "Regent" is estimated 
at five million francs, which is reached on 
the basis of one carat of its quality being 
worth about fifty dollars. This is falling off 
considerably from the value set upon it by 
the Commission of 1701. The whole number 
of precious stones is G4,812, weighing 18,751 
carats. The Crown contains 5,352 Dia- 
monds, of which 5,206 are Brilliants, and 
the others Rose-cut. One sword is set with 
1,57(3 Brilliants, and another with 1,50G 
Rose Diamonds. There are two clasps, the 
one mounted with 217, the other with 197 
Brilliants, and a chapeau button formed of 
21 similar Diamonds. 

The N'orih American corrGspondent, writing 
from Paris, says of these Crown Jewels : 
"There are Itouquets of Diamonds, with 
cords and tassels to match, to tie round the 
■waist, and Diamond stomachers, filled with 
stones, only inferior in size to the 'Regent.' 
In one case alone twenty-eight l>iamond 
necklaces lie exposed in rows of light, sup- 
ported by a fan encrusted with the same, 
while a Diamond comb adjoining places the 



head of tlie happy wearer at least on an 
equality with the hand. They occupy a 
pyramidal case of nine divisions, at the apex 
of which is placed, alone and unset, the 
'Regent,' a Diamoml of wonderful size and 
beauty, square in shape, and slightly rounded 
at the corners." 

The same writer says that the "Regent" 
was stolen from the Royal Garde-Meuble 
during the French Revolution, but was soon 
after recaptured, and then pledged by the 
Directory for 0,000,000 of francs to the Bank 
of Amsterdam. It was redeemed by Napo- 
leon immediately after the battle of Marengo. 
L' Europe Artiste of July 29th, 1855, says 
that this stone will shortly be placed ia 
the hands of the eminent Jeweler, M. Le- 
monnier, to be set in a new Imperial Diadem, 
which he has been commissioned to execute. 

Since the printing of those pages ia 
which we spoke of the "JCtoile du Sud," we 
we have learned from a late number of the 
North American that the cutting of that 
stone has been completed, and that it is at 
pi'csent placed in the French Exposition. 
The Paris correspondent of that paper 
says : 

" The Diamond is well exposed to the 
light, being simply suspended between two 
metal points which allow it to be seen on all 
sides. The faces of the cuttings are unusual- 
ly large, but, if one may judge by the fire 
which they throw out, and the brilliant pris- 
matic colors displayed, the operation has 
been scientifically and successfully conduct- 
ed. The stone appears perfectly colorless, 
and of elegant oblong form." "Its weight is 
one hundred and twenty-five and a half 
carats, but, owing either to the superiority 
of the cutting, or to the unusual thickness, 
nineteen millimetres* from the table to the 
extreme point behind, the refraction of light 
is wonderfully great, and, when the level sun 
falls rightly upon it, its fires are really mag- 
nificent." " The ' Etoile du Sud' is at this 
moment in the market positively to be sold, 
if a buyer can be found." Its weight, as 
above stated, sanctions our classification of 
it. (p. 12.) 

When penning our remarks upon the 
"Koh-i-noor," and " The Great Mogul's 
Diamond," (pp. 12, 13, 14, 15, and 10,) we 
sought in vain for some official English state- 
ment of the grounds of the identification by 
them of these two stones, and the conclusion 
we arrived at, though unavoidable from the 
facts before us, was not unaccompanied by 
the fears of the existence of some absolute 



• Vie tie Catharine II, Imperatrice de llu.-sie. Avec fix 
portraite graves en taille-Uouce. A I'uiis. 1797. (- vole. 
8vo.) 



* Nineteen millimetres are equal, within n shadow of » 
fraction, to three-fourths of an inch. This distance, the 
writer evidcnily means, is from the centre of the promi- 
nent /cicet of the tabic to the apex of the coUU. 



20 



JEWELRY AND THE PEECIOUS STONES. 



adverse proof -u'lncli vre had been unable to 
encounter. Since then we have found what 
we presume to be the strongest statement of 
proofs that the English Court can put forth 
upon the subject. It appears in Vol. II, 
p. G95, of the " Official, Descriptive and Il- 
lustrated Catalogue" of the "Great Exhibition 
of the Works of Industry of all Nations," 
in which, it will be remembered, the "Koh- 
i-noor" was exposed to the public by the 
Queen. It is published "By Authority of 
the Royal Commission," and four large 
columns of print are devoted to the subject. 
We were greatly surprised, after an atten- 
tive perusal of the same, that a claim of such 
magnitude, so universally made by English 
■writers, does not even pretend to possess a 
shadow of proof to support it. The Diamond 
is traced back, as we have done it already, 
to Nadir Shah, and the "Great Mogul's" is 
traced down to tliat personage. But that 
this latter stone was the one carried off into 
Cabul, upon the truth of which rests M^hoUy 
the "Koh-i-noor's" authenticity, not a word 
of evidence is offered. The whole of this 
momentous portion of its history is thus 
briefly given, and without the support of a 
single reference: 

"After Nadir Shah's death, the Diamond, 
which he had wrested from the unfortunate 
representative of the House of Timur,* be- 
came the p«-operty of Ahmed Shah, the 
founder of the Abdali dynasty of Kabul, 
having been given to him, or more probably 
taken by him from Shah Rokh, the young 
son of Nadir." 

This is poor indeed. But the Court scribe 
has still a difficult task before him. Taver- 
nier has carefully weighed, and minutely 
described to the world, the "Great Mogul's 
Diamond," and that stone, by him thus 
described, has become famous throughout 
the land — and the " Koh-i-noor" obstinately 
will KOt accord with Tavernier's statements. 
So our writer says : " Tavernier of course 
took the actual weight with the native 
standard of weight, the rati, and his valua- 
tion of the Diamond at two hundred and 
seventy-nine and nine-sixteenths carats was 
ihe result of a mistaken notion of the weight 
of the rati !" 

He then deduces from other authorities the 
•weight of the ratis, (spelt by him rati,) and 
makes it out, instead of seven-eighths of a 
carat, a little over two grains. Upon this 
basis three hundred and nineteen and a half 
ratis equal one hundred and seventy-five 
carats ! This, it is true, is nearer to one 



* 0\ir references to this celebrated historical character 
haTe been by the name of Tamerlane. Eillier appellation 
may be used at random. Tjiveruier calls himTemur-leng, 
and says that the ■word means Le Bnitcux, a term per- 
sonally applicable, he says, to the Tartar chief. 



hundred and eighty-six and one-sixteenth 
carats, (the "Koh-i-noor's" late weight,) 
than to two hundred and seventy-nine and 
nine-sixteenths carats, to which Tavernier 
says three hundred and nineteen and a half 
ratis are equal, but it is still some distance 
therefrom. That discrepancy however the 
enterprising writer thus disposes of: 

" The weight of one hundred and seventy- 
five carats is a sufficiently near approxima- 
tion to the actual weight of the 'Koh-i-noor,'* 
one hundred and eighty-six carats, taken 
with more perfect scales and weights than 
the Imperial Jewelers were likely to have 
provided, and with more care and delibera- 
tion than Tavernier might have had the op- 
portunity of exercising." 

AVhen the reader is reminded that Taver- 
nier was a Diamond merchant by profession, 
that he spent nearly forty years in Asia, that 
he brought back to France a vast number of 
Diamonds, Rubies, and Pearls, all bought in 
the East by the ratis, that he published with 
great care and elegance the results of his 
travels, illustrating his account of the "Great 
Mogul's Diamond" with a well executed en- 
graving, and that he repeatedly speaks both 
of the Aveight of this Diamond and of the 
weight of the ratis — when the reader is re- 
minded of these facts, we say — it will be dif- 
ficult for him to credit that this famous 
"travelling Jeweler," as Gibbon calls him, 
could, first, have made a mistake of nearly a 
hundred per centum in the value of the deli- 
cate ratis, and, secondly, in addition tliereto, 
have blundered to the extent of eleven carats 
in weighing the most precious stone ever de- 
posited in his hands, or indeed known to the 
world ! 

It seems hardly fair either that the official 
account of the " Koh-i-noor" should pass 
over in perfect silence Tavernier's descrip- 
tion of the beautiful shape of the Mogul 
stone, and his engraving thereof, without at- 
tempting to reconcile it with the long hulk 
of the " Mountain of Light !" 

Although we found no use of the word 
" Koh-i-noor" made before the date of Nadir 
Shah, and believed that none such had been 
made, we hesitated to assert this as a f\ict, 
for fear that the "Mogul's Diamond" might, in 
some authority we had not encountered, have 
been so styled ; but the official history of the 
"Koh-i-noor" absolves us from the responsi- 
bility of making this assertion. 

It says : " The appellation 'Koh-i-noor' is 
not given to the great Diamond of the Mogul 
Emperors." " Nadir Shah is said to have 
bestowed upon it the name of 'Koh-i-noor'." 
If then, even so poor a proof as the coinci- 
dence of names does not exist, we cannot 



* It had not yet at this date undergone its re-cutting. 



JEWELRY AND THE PRECIOUS STONES. 



21 



conceive upon what fjrounds at all it has ever 
boen asserted that Knjiland is in possession 
of the "Great Mogul's Diamond." 

This account, in order we presume to add 
to th6 fame of the stone, pretends to give its 
history from a remote period. It is made 
iipb from occasional references by Indian 
historians to large Diamonds, and the "Koh- 
i-noor" thus becomes the hero of all the 
early stories related of any and every con- 
spicuous Diamond. Such a history may be 
consitlercd, of cfourse, as purely fabulous. It 
is us follows. It was found 3001 years be- 
fore Christ, and was worn by Kama, King 
of Anga. It was next heard of as belonging 
to Vikramaditya, the Rajah of Ujayin, fifty- 
six years before Christ, and his successors, 
Ihe llajahs of Mahva. JMalwa was conquer- 
ed and overcome by Alla-ud-din, Sultan of 
Delhi, in 130G. From him it passed to the 
Bikermajit family of Agra, who presented it 
to Ilumayun, who presented it to Sultan 
Baber, who presented it Ijack to Ilumayun. 
After this, it passed permanently, until Na- 
dir's arrival, into the possession of the Em- 
perors of Mogul, 

The recent history of the "Koh-i-noor," as 
here given, is doulitlessly quite authentic, 
and, as it is somewhat more precise than 
that related by us, we shall quote from it : 
"After Runjet's death it was worn by Khur- 
ruk Sing and Shir Sing. After the murder of 
the latter, it remained in the Lahore Trea- 
sury until the surpercession of Dhulip Sing, 
and the annexation of the Punjab by the 
British Government, when the civil authori- 
ties took possession of the Lahore Treasury, 
under the stipulation, previously made, that 
all the propertj'^ of the State should be con- 
fiscated to the East India Company, in part 
payment of the delit due by the Lahore 
Government, and of the expenses of ihe war. 
It was at the same time stipulated that the 
' Koh-i-noor' should be surrendered to the 
Queen. The Diamond was conveyed to Bom- 
bay by Governor-General the Earl of Dal- 
housie, whom ill health had compelled to re- 
pair to the coast, and was there given in 
charge to Lieut. Col. Mackeson, C. B., and 
Capt. T. Ramsay, the Military Secretary to 
the Governor-General, to take to England." 
They left Bombay with it April 6tl), 18-50, 
arrived in England -June 30th, and surren- 
dered it, July 2nd, to the Chairman and De- 
puty Chairman of the Court of Directors, 
who, with the President of the Board of Con- 
trol, presented it, July 3rd, to Her Majesty." 
AVe should have stated in speaking of the 
"KingofPortugal'sDiamond" (pp. 16,17) that 
several French authorities give its weight as 
one hundred and twenty carats, which would 
fix the " Koh-i-noor" as the sixf/i in order of 
the large Diamonds. "We stated the weight, 
ninety-three and three-quarters carats, as 



given with the model from which we de- 
scribed it. 

The weight of " the Pacha of Egypt's 
Diamond" was there misprinted sixty-nine 
instead of forty-nine carats. 

We have learneil that M'r Henry Thomas 
Hope, of London, is in possession of a blue 
Diamond, M'eighing one hundred and seventy- 
seven grains. If this were seventy-seven 
carats it would accord with the weight of ihe 
"Blue Diamond," which we have described. 
It is more probably " The English Lottery 
Diamond;" for one hundred and seventy- 
seven grains are equivalent to a little over 
forty-five and a half carats, which is nearly 
the weight we have accorded " The Lottery 
Diamond," and it also has been described as 
of a blue tinge. 

The Parisian correspondent of the NbrtJi 
American says that the " Sancy" was also 
stolen from the Royal Garde-Meuhle during 
the French Revolution, and became ultimate- 
ly the property of the Emperor of Russia. 

On page seventeen the " Sancy Dia- 
mond" was described as of square form, and 
" The Polar Star" as of an egg shape, flat- 
tened at the sides. These descriptions apply 
reversely to these two stones. 

Wo should have mentioned also on the 
seventeenth page, that "The English Lot- 
tery Diamond," " The Sancy," and " The 
Polar Star," are all cut as Brilliants. 

D'r Feuchtwanger says " The Nassuc 
Diamond" weighs three hundred and fifty- 
seven and a half grains, (91.95 carats,) and 
that it was sold at the auction of Mess'rs 
Rundell & Bridges in 1837, for $36,000. 

He says at the same time were sold a pair 
of Brilliant ear-rings, Aveighing two hundred 
and twenty-three and a half grains, formerly 
the property of Queen Charlotte, for $55,000; 
a Brilliant drop, sevent3'-nine and a half 
grains, for $5,900 ; and an oblong Brilliant, 
one hundred and fifty-one and a quarter 
grains, for $14,000. 

A Diamond valued at 200.000 francs, and 
a diadem set with 9,000 Diamonds, are now 
exposed, at the Frencli Exhibition, by Mess'rs 
Marret & Beaugrand, prominent Jewelers ia 
Paris. 

We learn from L' Ev rope Artiste of Aug.Sth, 
1855, that the House of Marret & Jarry have 
just completed a splendid necklace of Dia- 
monds — 2,000 in number, and Aveighing in 
the aggregate one hundred and twenty 
carats. The price of 120,000 francs is put 
upon it. 

On page ten we hazarded some con- 
jectures as to the origin of the word c;vrat. 
Since that has been printed we have fallen 
upon, incontrovcrtibly, the origin of the 
word, and, although our opinion of the ordi- 
nary " bean derivation" is shewn to have 
been correct, neither of our own theories has 



22 



JEWELRY AND THE PRECIOUS STONES. 



proved so to have been. Thomas Nicols, in 
his old book op " Pretious Stones," quoted 
"by us before, uses throughout it the -word 
ceratmm, and plural cerutia, in speaking of 
the weight of gems. He makes it clear also 
that it was equivalent to our carat, by the 
following sentence : "Monardus writeth that 
he saw Diamonds in Bisnager (Visnapour) 
that weighed 140 ceratia, and every cei-aiium 
is foure grains." If anything is Avanted to 
confii'm this origin it may be found upon re- 
ferring to this word in the Latin Lexicon, 
which shews us that it was derived by the 
Romans from the Greek keration, and de- 
scribes it as " the name of a very small 
weight or measure." Being of such Greek 
derivation, the Latin word is to be pro- 
nounced with the (■ hard, which will give us 
almost the identical word we use. 

We have found a remarkaljle confirmation 
of Tavernier's account of the Diamond mines 
of India, in a paper read before tlie lloj'al 
Society in the latter part of the seventeenth 
centui'y.* This examination must have oc- 
curred too at about the same date as that of 
Tavernier's visits to India. "Currure'^ and 
"Gani" seem to be used indiscriminately by 
Tavernier and other Avriters as the name of 
th« same mines. One little old bookf calls 
them CovUoitr : " The second mine is called 
CoiiUmir in the Persian language, and the 
Idolaters of the countrey call it Gany." 
The mines visited by D'r Voysey in 1823, 
about three miles Irom the Krishna river, 
and called l)y him Partiala, are said to be 
the same mines. We extract a curious para- 
graph from the Earl Marshall's article: 

" About sixty or seventy years ago, when 
the Curi'ure mines was under the Govern- 
ment of the Hunducs, and several Persons 
permitted to adventure in digging, a Por- 
iw^eez Gentleman went thither from G^o«, and 
having spent in Mining a great sum ofMony 
to the amounts of 100,000 pagodas, as 'tis 
reported, and converted every thing he 
brought with him, that would fetch any 
mony, even to what wearing Cloaths he could 
spare, while the Miners were at Work for 
the last Day's expence, he had prepared a cup 
of Poyson, resolving, if that Night he found 
nothing, to drink his last with the conclusion 
of his Mony; but in tlie Evening the Work- 
men brought him a very fair spread Stone of 
180 mangelleens' weight, in commemoration 
whereof he caused a great Stone to be erected 
in the place, with an Inscription iugraven on 



* "A Description of the Diamond-mines, as it was pre- 
sented by tbe llight Honourable the Earl Marshal of 
England, to the Koyal Sociuty." Publit^hed in the Annals 
of that Society. 

t The History of Jewels, and of the Principal Riches of 
the East and West. Taken from tbe relation of Divers of 
the most famous Travellers of our age. London. Printed 
by T.N. IbTl. 



it, in the Hundues or TeUinga Tongue, to the 
following effect, which remains to be seen to 
this day : 

Your Wife and Children sell, sell what you have. 
Spare not your Cloaths, nay, make your self a Slave; 
But money get, then to Currure make hast; 
There search the Mines, a Prize you'l find at last. 

After which he immediately returned with 
his Stone to Goa." 

On our fifteenth page we gave Tavernier's 
account of the largest Diamond he saw in 
India in private hands, and states its weight 
to have been one hundred and seventy-six 
and a quarter mangelins. This is so near 
the weight of that referred to in the above 
paragraph, that it would seem probable that 
these two accounts refer to the same stone. 

" The History of Jewels," by the by, above 
referred to, is chiefly made up of extracts 
from Tavernier, Avithout aword of credit, but 
still, in such quaint English, that we are 
tempted to give the reader a slight taste from 
the Prefixce : 

" There is nothing more admirable in this 
lower Avorld then precious stunes, seeing they 
are the starres of the earth, and shine in 
competition with those of the firmament, dis- 
puting with them for splendor, beauty, and 
glory. Nature produceth nothing more rich, 
and sufficiently confesseth it, in her most 
careful laying them up and hiding them in 
her private cabinets and repositories in the 
inner parts of the earth, so that they are not 
easie to be come by ; but their value and 
price make them Avorth the searching for, 
even through the boAvels of the world." 

Tavernier informs us that, in the language 
of the Ilindostan miners, the Diamond is 
called III ; in Turkish, Persian and Arabic, 
Almas ; and, in all the European languages, 
something analogous in sound to the word 
Diamond. 

The Diamond is now used extensively in 
the mechanical arts ; it is used for powerful 
lenses, for engraving on copper and steel, and 
upon all hard stones, for cutting glass, for 
sockets to pivots in Avatches, and for various 
other purposes by dentists, turners, china- 
menders, lapidaries, &c.. 

It is time noAv to dismiss the Diamond, 
but, in proceeding Avith the other stones 
upon the list, the reader need not apprehend 
that each will be treated at the same length; 
for the interest attaching to this gem exceeds 
that of all the other precious stones com- 
bined. 

Tlie Sapphire in hard ness,comes next to the 
Diamond. It is one ot theVarieties of that vast 
genus thesilex. Its chemical composition is 
pure alumina crystallized. The colour most 
commonly understood to attach to the Sap- 
phire is blue, and therefore the poets are 



JEWELRY AND THE PRECIOUS STONES. 



wont to sing of Sapphire skies. It is also 
found occasionally gray, white, green and 
yellow. In shape it is usually rhoniboidal. 
ilaliy names it the " telesic," and IJournon 
the "perfect corundum." Being silioious 
in. its nature it approaches in its hardness 
close upon the Diamond, while, in its blue 
species, it is very beautiful. The deep-blue 
Sapphire is named by the lapidaries the 
" male," and the pale-blue the " female." 

It is acted ifpon by neither the acids nor 
tire blowpipe. It is found mostly in tlie beds 
of rivers, especially in Ceylon and in the 
southern part of the Barman Empire. 

This stone through its blue color was the 
emblem of heaven, the firmament, truth, con- 
"fetancy, and fidelity. The Jewish priests 
wore robes and breast-plates of this color as 
significative of heaven. 

The Hebrew Rabbis declare this to lie th« 
stone of which the rod of Moses and the 
Tables of the Law received on Mount Sinai 
were composed. Thomas Nicols, whom we 
have before quoted, says (as it is useful to 
know) that " the Sapphire if worn by an 
adulterer loses its splendor, and the wearing 
of it quells the animal senses ;" " if put into 
a glasse with a spider it will quickly die ;" 
" it keepeth men chaste, and therefoi-e is 
worn by priests." 

Fine specimens bring high prices. The 
late jM'r Hope purchased one from the 
Parisian Jardin des Plantes, paying therefor 
the considerable sum of £3,000. 

The French crown contains 59 of these 
stones. 

A Sapphire weighing seventy-five and a 
half carats was sold, says D'r Feuchtwanger, 
at the auction of IMess'rs Rundell & Bridges, 
for $2,4G5. 

The Ruby is, chemically, the same as the 
Sapphire except so far as it is affected by its 
coloring matter. It ranks next to the Diamond 
in value. A fine specimen of the Oriental Ruby 
is rarer than even the Diamond itself. An- 
ciently it went by the name of carbuncle, as 
it does occasionally now. It is a species of 
silex or quartz, and therefore participates in 
the natural hardness of that stone. As its 
name indicates, it is red in color — a carmine- 
red — and a very beautiful ornament for the 
" ornamental sex." They are found in Ilin- 
dostan, in Ceylon, in Bohemia, and in Hun- 
gary. 

The largest Ruby known is said to be in 
the Imperial Russian Crown, in which it is 
placed under the cross. It was bought for 
the Empress Anne in Pekin, for 120,000 
roubles, by her ambassador to that city. 

Tavcrnier gives drawings of and describes 
several remarkable Rubies he saw in the 
East. 

First is one that belonged to the Kins: of 



Persia, nearly as large as an egg and of that 
shape, of deep color, and of unknown weight. 
It had Ijeen for many years in the treasury 
of that monarch. 

The second figure is that of a stone sold as 
a Rul)y to Giaferkan, uncle of the Great 
Mogul, for 95,000 rupees ($285,000), and 
presented by him to the Emperor. A dis- 
charged old Jeweler of the king, having 
found some opportunity of examining it, 
declared that Giaferkan had been deceived, 
that it was not a Rubj% and was not worth 
over 500 rupees. The king's .Jewelers were 
convened to decide upon the matter, and 
they declared their belief in its genuineness. 
Ah in the whole Empire of the Great Mogul 
there was no person more skilled, it was be- 
lieved, in the knowledge of precious stones 
than Shah Jehan, then detained a prisoner at 
Agra by his son, Aureng Zebe, the latter sent 
the stone to his father, begging his opinion. 
He confirmed the views of the old Jeweler, 
and said it Avas not worth more than 500 
rupees. The stone having been brought back 
to Aureng Zebe, it was returned to the mer- 
chant who sold it, and he was forced to dis- 
gorge the money he had received for it. This 
stone was of an egg-shape. 

The next is a view of one weighiirg seven- 
teen and a half carats, in the possession of 
the King of Visapour, of the shape of half an 
egg. It is well cut, and of the greatest beau- 
ty. It was bought in 1G53, for 14,200 new 
pagodas, (about as many dollars.) 

We have then described one "weighing 
fifty and three-quarters carats, of the second 
water, uncut, and almond-shaped. It was 
ofi'ered to me at Banarous for 55,000 
rupees." 

Tavcrnier says that Rubies were so scarce 
in Asia that he found it profitable to take 
them thither from Europe to sell. 

He says he found them so preciously 
guarded, that a merchant would never shew 
a Ruby, even if an insignificant one, unless 
you agreed to give him some trifling present, 
as a cap or belt, in case you did not buy. 

He speaks of one Aveighing five carats, 
found in Bohemia, and presented bj' General 
Wallestein, Duke of Fridland, to the Viceroy 
of Hungary. 

In the Cfreen Vault at Dresden there is a 
pair of Ruby ear-rings, which have been 
valued at 2-4,000 thalers, though at present 
they would probal)ly bring a much higiier 
price, owing to these gems being greatly in 
fashion. The aljoye sum would 1)0 about 
18,000 of our dollars. The English Crown 
contains a large heart-shaped Ruby. 

Ludovicus Vartomannus, a lying old Ro- 
man, says that the King of Pegu, in India, 
had a Ruby whicli could illuminate a dark 
room as brilliantly as could the sun 1 

Andreas Baccius says in his book, De Na- 



24 



JEWELRY AND THE PRECIOUS STONES. 



tura Gemmanim, that if danger approaches 
the ATcarer of a Ruby, it will turn black, and, 
upon the danger being past, resume its color 
again ! 

Nicols relates the following of Baccius and 
a Ruby he possessed enclosed in a gold ring: 
" On the fifth of December, 1600, he wa§ tra- 
velling with his wife, Catharina Adelmania, 
to Studgard, and in his travel he observed 
his Rubin e to change its glory into obscu- 
ritie, whereupon he told his wife, and prog- 
Dosticated that evil thereupon would ensue 
either to himself or her, which accordingly 
did ; for not many days after his Avife Avas 
taken with a mortal disease and died ; after 
which he saith his Rubine of its own accord 
did again recover its former lustre, glory, 
beauty, and splendour." 

The Topaz, according to lire, is still 
another form of the silex or quartz. It is 
found crystallized in rhombic prisms in Bra- 
zil, Siberia, and Saxony. It is transparent 
and translucent, and commonly of a wine- 
yellow colour, but frequently sulphur colour- 
ed, and rose-red. Sometimes it occurs per- 
fectly limpid. It is not affected by the acids. 
It becomes electric from heat or friction, and 
to such a degree as to make it distinguish- 
able, by this property, from other stones that 
may chance to resemble it. »See Nicol's 
Manual of Mineralogy,* pp. 255, 257, also 
D'r Feuchtwanger's Treatise, p. 80. The 
principal supply of this gem is from Brazil, 
where it is sought in the rainy season, in the 
same manner, and in the same localities, as 
the Diamond. The annual production from 
this region is about foi'ty pounds. The white, 
and the rose-red are the most valuable. The 
former are called by the Portuguese pi/tf/o^ 
d'ar/oa, (drops of water,) and, when cut, they 
closely resemble the Diamond in lustre and 
brilliancy. The Brazilian yellow Topaz, 
when exposed to heat, becomes reddish, and 
"bears a strong resemblance to the Ruby, but 
may be distinguished from it by the elec- 
tricity it is capable of evolving. The Saxon 
pale-wine coloured Topaz, when exposed 
to heat, becomes colourless. It is said 
to have derived its name from an island in 
the Red Sea, where the first specimen was 
found by a Mauritanian King. The name 
however, fopazioa, has existed in the Greek 
language from time iuimemorial, but whether 
it Avas the name of t!ie same mineral as our 
Topaz it cannot be with certainty affirmed. 

Tavernier gives a view of a magnificent 
Topaz in the possession of the Great Mogul. 
It is beautifully cut, its girdle being a per- 
fect octagon. " This," says he, " is the only 
gem I have seen him wear upon his person 



* Mar.vial of Minernlosry, or the Natural nijtory of the 
Mineral Kingdom. By James Nicol, 1\ 11. S. E., F. G. S.. 
Edinburgh : 1S49. 



whenever I visited his Court during my last 
journey to the Indies. It weighs one hun- 
dred and fifty-seven and a quarter carats, 
and was bought for this monarch at Goa for 
181,000 rupees, (§543,000.)" 

A Topaz valued at 10,000 roubles is among 
the Jewels in one of the saddles of Catharine 
II of Russia. 

Albertus Magnus says that this stone is 
more beautiful in the morning than at any 
other times of the day. And is this not true 
of every thing, animate or inanimate? 

Cardanus says that with a simple powder 
of Topaz diffused in wine, he cured one 
Cesar Palavicinus, Esq., of a fever that he 
had had for fifteen days, and another gen- 
tleman of " melancholy," who had long been 
dosed in vain by the prescriptions of the re- 
gular'practitioners. 

Thomas Nicols calls it " a very hard glo- 
rious sun-shine gemm." 

He also says : " The powder of it is said 
to be good in asthraatick passions, and in the 
ortliopnoeu if it be drunk in a convenient 
liquor. If in fevers it be held under the 
tongue it is said to quench thirst. 

It is cold and dry as all other pretious 
stones are." 

The Emerald is a composition of silica, 
alumina, and glucina, coloured generally 
green by chrome oxide. It is of various 
shades of green, sometimes colourless, some- 
times inclining to blue and yellow. Those 
species not green however ai-e specifically 
known as beryl or aqua-marine — the co- 
louring matter in them being iron peroxide. 
Emeralds are found in the shape of six-sided 
prisms, Avith the lateral faces smooth, and 
varying from transparent to translucent. It 
is not afifected by acids. It is found chiefly 
in Peru. Less beautiful varieties are met 
Avith in India, Ceylon, Greenland, and Sibe- 
ria. It is cut in A-arious forms, the Brilliant, 
the Rose, and the Table styles. It is usually 
set Avith a green substance behind it, unless 
of very fine quality, Avhen they are open-set. 
They sell at the price of $12 per carat. One 
of twenty-four grains, at the auction of the 
Marquis de Dree, sold for 2,400 francs. It 
may be very successfully imitated. 

Ancient!}' there were mines of it Avrought 
in Egypt on the Arabian Gulf. For some 
centuries all knowledge of them Avas lost, but 
they have been rediscovered, in modern days, 
by Caillard. 

Tavernier has some remarks on this stone, 
which, as bearing on the early history of 
America, are Avorth translating in full. 

He first expresses the opinion, that the 
Emerald, though known from time imme- 
morial, always came from America. He- 
then adds, " I believe, that, prior to the dis- 
covery of that part of the Avorld, commonly 
called the West Indies, Emeralds were in- 



JEWELRY AND THE PRECIOUS STONES. 



deed brought into Europe from Asia, but 
that their actual source was the kingdom of 
Peru. For the American^', before they be- 
canie>knowu to us, traded in the Phillippine 
Isles, whither they carried gold and silver, 
especially the latter. The same traffic is 
still continued, and tlie Peruvians visifrtho 
Phillippines yearly with two or tliree vessels 
carrying silver and rough Emeralds. Here 
they are met by traders from Bengal, Ara- 
can, Pegu, Goa, and otjier places, bringing 
cloths of all sorts, set Diamonds and Rubies, 
gold-jewelry, silk-stufls and Persian carpets. 
It should, however, be remarked, that they 
are not permitted to deal directly with the 
Americans, but only through the interven- 
tion of persons residing at the Manillas. 
And this is the only way in which Emeralds 
reached P^urope before the discovei-y of the 
West Indies." 

The Spanish conquerors of Peru heard 
that, in the Valley of IManta, was a temple 
dedicated to the Goddess, Emerald. Of 
course they hastened to pay their devoirs at 
the shrine of so respectable a divinity. But, 
on reaching the temple, they found that the 
Goddess had disappeared, llowever, finding 
there a large numljer of daughters of the 
"Mother of the Emeralds," (as the Goddess 
was entitled by the priests,) they took pos- 
session of these for their own behoof. 

The Mexican kings prized these stones so 
highly, that they were accustomed to pierce 
their nostrils and there hang one of the 
finest specimens they could procure. They 
put them also upon the faces of their idols. 

If we may credit an old Avriter, the traffic 
in them from America must, at one time, 
have been enormous. For he says, that in 
the fleet, which came from the Indies, in the 
year 1587, there were two great chests of 
Emeralds. If this be fact, the number in 
circulation must, we think, have diminislied. 

Highly as these stones have ever been 
prized by Europeans, it would seem that the 
Orientals have valued them more highly 
Btill. For Tavernier says, that, in his day, 
Emeralds, and indeed nearly all the pre- 
cious stones, except the Diamond, brought 
better prices in Asia than in Europe. 

This stone is especially noted for the ex- 
travagant traditions of all kinds concern- 
ing it. 

Thus it is gravely recorded, that the vic- 
torious Saracens captured, at tlie Spanish 
city, Toledo, a table three hundred and sixty 
feet long, constructed of a single Emerald ! 
Also that an obelisk stood there, composed 
of four I]meralds only, which was sixty feet 
high ! It is stated also that in the Cathe- 
dral treasury of Genoa was preserved, in 
1780, a hexagonal bowl of Emerald, of which 
the broadest diameter was fourteen and a 
half inches. In 1319 this bowl was pledged 



to a certain cardinal for 1200 gold marks, 
and twelve years elapsed before the city 
could raise this sum for its redemption. la 
172G a volume was published in Genoa, 
which professed to demonstrate by authori- 
ties, tliat this identical vessel had once be- 
longed to King Solomon, and was an item of 
the presents brought to him by the Queen of 
Sheba. 

It must be confessed, tliat it is rather a 
sorry downfall of the romance concerning 
this stone to find it more than probable, that 
all these large specimens are neither more 
nor less than green glass, or at best but 
rock-crystal, imbedded perhaps with portions 
iof aqua-marine. For it is stated that in Peru, 
which yields the finest in the world, no one 
larger than an ostrich's egg has ever been 
mentioned, and tliat such a one ever existed 
is extremely doubtful. 

In Saint John's Apocalypse (chapter iv, 
3 v,) tlie throne of tlie Deity is described as 
surrounded by a rainbow of Emeralds. 

Tradition says that the famous magician 
Hermes Trismegistus engraved on an Eme- 
rald a panacea for all human maladies, which 
was enclosed with his body in his tomb. 
Rather a selfish proceeding it seems to us. 

As a fact belonging to modern times, we 
would mention that the sceptre of Poland 
was a simple piece of beryl, two feet long. 
It has been broken in the middle, and is now 
in the possession of Ptussia. 

M'r Hope, of London, possessed a cut 
crystal of the beryl class, weighing sis 
ounces, and valued at £500; and the Duke 
of Devonshire another from Peru, two inches 
long, and Aveighing eight oz. eighteen dwts, 
but containing many flaws, and valued at one 
hundred and fifty guineas. 

In the "Memoires du Rfegne de Catharine, 
Imperatrice de Russie" mention is made of 
an Emerald, belonging to the Crown, of the 
size of a hen's egg. 

Martinus Rulandus says that the Emerald 
exceeds in verdure watered grass, or the 
greenest leaves of the trees. 

Avenzoar declares it to be a specific against 
poisons, and Boetius gives a recipe for a 
"tincture of Emerald." 

D'r Aloysius Mundella says that his 
brother, a Jeweler, sold an Emerald for one 
hundred and thirteen aun'o.i to Franciscus 
Maria, Prince of Urbino, and intended by 
him to be used medicinally. 

Cardanus says that all green jewels may 
be affected by the fire on account of the 
abundance of humour contained in them ! 
{De lajniiis pretio.'ii-s-. Book 7.) 

Baccius says, speaking of the berjd speci- 
men, that if wrapped in a linen cloth and 
put into water, or juit into water by itself, 
the water will seem to be moved. And 



26 



JEWELRY AND THE PRECIOUS STONES. 



"Wurtzung, a German physician, says that it 
is used in all diseases of the heart. 

We shall conclude our researches upon 
this stone M-ith some quaint old passages 
from our " Sometimes member of Jesus Col- 
ledge." 

" Sophisticatours are wont, lucri cmiscl, to 
adulterate this gemme." 

" The Emerauld is a precious stone or 
gemme of so excellent a viridity, or spring- 
colour, as that if a man shall look upon an 
Emerauld by a pleasant green meadow, it will 
be more amiable then the meadow, and over- 
come the meadow's glorie, by the glory of 
that spring of viriditie which it hath in itself: 
the largcnesse of the meadow it will over- 
come with the amplitude of its glory, where- 
with farre above its greatnesse it doth feed 
the eie : and the virescencie of the meadow 
it will overcome with the brightnesse oi' its 
glory, which in itself seemeth to embrace the 
glorious viridity of many springs. This 
stone is known by its apparent coldnesse in 
the mouth, and by its gravity being weighed." 
" They do much sharpen and acuate the 
dulnesse of the sight, and therefore engravers 
■will most willingly be employed about them. 
They are very transparent, and do very ex- 
cellently dart forth their rayes like lightning; 
and therefore they are of great esteem and 
price." 

" The Scythian Emerauld is found in gold 
mines, and cannot be obtained without a 
great deal of danger: for it is reported, that 
the Gryphines take charge of this, stand cen- 
tury about it, and have their safe custody 
upon it. These fierce ravenous birds make 
their nests in the mines of gold where these 
pretious gemms are to be had, therefore the 
Arimasjn, or MonocvH, who hunger much 
after the gold, and I']meraulds, are forced to 
arm themselves for a battell with these birds, 
before they can obtain their prize." 

" This stone is good to recreate the sight; 
Andreas Baccius, Agricola, Cardanus, and 
Anselmus Boetius say, that there is such an 
enmity betwixt it, and illegitimate venery, 
or the uncleannesse of the flesh, as that if it 
do but touch the skinne of an adulterer, it 
will break. And that it doth bridle the 
reins of lasciviousnesse, and much temper it; 
insomuch as Albertus Magnus doth not 
doubt to affirm that the king of Hungaria 
Bela having carnall knowledge of his wife, 
with an Emerauld set in gold on his finger, 
the Emerauld brake into three parts." 

The Amethyst, which has been known 
from the earliest days of Greece and Rome, 
and was also empKjyed for sacerdotal pur- 
poses among the Jews, is also a species of the 
extensive genus, quartz. The highly trans- 
parent, colourless varieties of quartz go by 
the name of rock-crystals. The finest Ame- 
thysts are found in the cavities of rocks in 



Dauphine, Switzerland, Tyrol, the Pyrenees, 
Hungary, Siberia, Brazil, Madagascar, Cey- 
lon, India and Pei'sia. 

The Amethyst comprises the violet-blue 
varieties of quartz, generally crystalized as 
pyramids on the exterior of rocks. The 
uniting planes of the prismatic portions are 
frequently marked by undulating lines, and 
all specimens, thus arranged, are now termed 
Amethysts. This stone varies from trans- 
parent to translucent ; is of a vitreous 
lustre; and on the same specimen is 
often a dark-violet and nearly colourless. It 
scratches white glass, strikes fire with steel, 
but yields to the file. Under the com- 
pound blowpipe it parts Avith its colour. 
The blue colour of this stone is believed to 
be caused by peroxide of iron. The German 
chemist, Ileintz, found a very dark-tinted 
Brazilian AmethA^st become colourless, when 
subjected to 250° of heat, and, as it contained, 
at most, only 0.01 per cent, of manganese, he 
decided that the latter could not be the 
colouring principle. From various other ex- 
periments he concluded, that organic matter 
could not produce the colour, but that, most 
probablj', it was owing to the peroxide of 
iron . 

The finest violet Amethysts come from 
Siberia, Persia, India and Ceylon. The 
Scottish Highlands were formerly distin- 
guished for producing the cairngorm, a 
highly prized brown or yellow species. 

It is sometimes cut in the form of a 
Brilliant, and, when set, is supplied with 
a blue or red foil, in case it is pale, but, when 
deep-coloured, it requires no artificial assist- 
ance. Though used in almost all descrip- 
tions of Jewelry, it shows best in necklaces. 

The Amethyst is no longer prized so high- 
ly as once. And yet, when large-sized and 
intense and uniform in colour, it is greatly 
valued still, and well-cut stones, of one carat, 
are worth from three to five dollars, and so 
on in proportion to their bulk and tint. 

The Amethyst may be imitated very closely 
with paste — so closely, that the imitation is 
distinguished with great difliculty from the 
real. The artificial gem, however, is some- 
what heavier than the genuine, on account of 
the metallic oxides, which enter into its com- 
position. 

Among the ancients this stone was ever a 
favourite one for purposes of engraving. 
Several fine specimens of it have come down 
to our day, such as a bust of Trajan carried 
by Napoleon from Prussia to Paris during the 
wars of the Empire; the Apollo Belvidere; 
the Laocotin Group ; the Farnese Hercules, 
&c.. 

As with other precious stones, so with this, 
antique tradition has connected not a few 
superstitions. Thus its very name, — from 
the Greek privative, a, and mdhuo, to intox- 



JEWELRY AND THE PRECIOUS STONES. 



27 



ictite, — Avas given to it, under the impression 
that wine, taken from a cup of this material, 
couKl not intoxicate. 

The •'Amethyst was the ninth stone in 
order on tlie Urim and Tlunnniim, worn on 
the breast by the Jewish High Priest. 

Aristotle says that the Amethyst if worn 
on the stomach hinders the ascension of 
vapours; the reason of it he gives to be that 
it draws tlio vapours to itself, and thus dis- 
sipates them. 

Andreas Baccius says (Pe Natura Gem- 
marum, Chap. XI) that it sharpens the wit, 
destroys sleep, and resists the effects of 
poison. 

With a quotation from Nicols we will dis- 
miss this stone: 

" riiny, sporting in his naturall History 
about this stone, saith that it doth draw 
nigh to the colour of wine, but it durst not 
tast it, that is, it taketh but very little of it: 
for before it doth througlily relish it, its 
glory doth end in a very dolightfull pleasing 
sparkling violet colour : the most excellent 
of them have in them a glorious fiery bright- 
nesse, which doth most excellently and 
pleasingly dart its self forth (as I have ob- 
served in one which I was once master of) 
through the transparent cloud of a skie 
colour ; from the mixture of its rednesse, 
brightnesse, or fiery splendour with this skie 
colour, ariseth all the glorious delight of its 
pleasing tincture." 

In proceeding to treat of the minor gems, 
we deem it proper to put the^reader on his 
guard by observing that our whole subject is 
made difficult and perplexing by the fact, that 
various names have been given to the same 
stone in different times and countries, and 
that great numbers of them, slightly difi'ei'- 
enced from each other, belong to the same 
genus, and even the same species. This re- 
mark applies especially to those of which we 
are now to speak. We shall thread the lal)y- 
rinth as best we may, though we could wish 
we had that antique " silken thread" to 
guide us. 

The Carnelian is a species of the calcedony, 
which is itself a sub-species of that universal 
mineral, the quartz. To the ancients it was 
known as the " sarda," for Avhich name two 
reasons have been assigned, which we will 
give when we speak of the Sardonyx. 
The moderns have variously entitled it Car- 
nelian and Cornelian — in either case from its 
Ted color, corresponding to the color of the 
flesh, " caro," and the heart, "cor." 

The finest of these stones come from 
Siberia, Arabia, India, Surinam and Tyrol, 
though they occur in various other places in 
both the old and new worlds. It is found in 
masses or pebbles ; is semi-transparent and 
translucent; and (what somewhat inijicaches 
its name) is, in its varieties, not only blood- 



red, but yellow and yellow-brown. The 
Jewelers prefer the dark-red and the yellow- 
tinted. 

It is used for seals, rings, watch-keys, &c.. 
Its color is said to be improved by calcina- 
tion, and it is also said that the ancients 
boiled it in honey to heighten its color. On 
account of its hardness, it is very useful for 
seal-engraving. 

In regard to this stone we close by citing an 
old superstition referred to by Nicols: "It 
causeth him thatweareth it tobeof aehearfull 
heart, free from fear, and noblely audacious, 
and that it is a good protection for him against 
witchcrafts and fascinations, and putrefac- 
tians of humors." 

From the best information we can obtain, 
Carbuncle was the ancient name for the 
now entitled in geological treatises spjnelle, 
which latter, according to Ilaliy, is the 
true Ruby. As we have already de- 
scribed the Ruby, Ave need not, of course, 
repeat ourselves, but consider that our list of 
precious stones, which made the Carbuncle 
and the Ruby two different gems, was erro- 
neous. 

Garnets, or Granats, according to quaint 
ohl Nicols, were well known to the ancients, 
who considered them as a species of Carbun- 
cles, otherwise of Rubies. They are pellucid, 
crystallized chiefly in dodecahedral forms, 
imperfectly lamellar in structure, more or 
less conchoidal in fracture, and take their 
name some suppose from being found chiefiy 
in grains. 

The Garnet is of three principal species: 

1st. The Syrian, of a deep rose color, "like 
unto the flowers of pomegranates," says 
Nicols. " Boetius," continues he, "saith 
that it looketh like a flame of fire, &c.." 

2nd. The Bohemian or Ceylonese, wine- 
red or nearly orange-yellow. 

3rd. The "Vermeille, deeply tinged with 
orange-yellow. 

The red Garnet is found in many species 
of rocks, in loose crystals, in small boulders, 
in grains, and in alluvial earth. It occurs 
in many European countries and in various 
parts of the Uuited States. 

The grains collected by digging and wash- 
ing alluvion are preferred by lapidaries to 
all others. 

The chemical constituents of this gem are 
silica, alumina, and the protoxides of iron 
and manganese. 

Garnets are much used in Jewelry, being 
cut into rings, breastpins, ear-rings and neck- 
laces, and out of the larger ones snuii'-boxea 
are sometimes made. 

Their value is measured by their size, pu- 
rity and color. A Syrian Garnet, eight and 
a half lines long and sis and a half broad, 
was sold at the auction of the ^Marquis de 



28 



JEWELRY AND THE PRECIOUS STONES. 



Dree for 3,550 francs, and a red Ceylonese 
Garnet, eleven lines long and seven broad, 
was sold for 1,003 francs. They can be very 
well imitated by pastes. 

As one of the Latin names of this stone, or of 
the Ruby, or of both, is Rubinus, it formerly 
was often called Rubine in English. This ex- 
plains the meaning of Rubine in the following 
quotation from Nicols, with which we close. 

" Plinie relateth of the Ethiopians that 
they have a way of quickning obscure and 
dull Rubines, so as that they will make them 
to discover their splendour and nitour for 
fourteen moneths together, even like a flaming 
coal; and that is by macerating of them for 
fourteen dayes in vineger : but by tliis means, 
though their glory be increased for a time, 
they are made softer, and more subject to a 
brittle and fragile condition." 

The Onyx is one variety of the species of 
mineral substance called calcedony, and 
is the stone of which those exquisite 
artistic products, the antique Cameos, 
Avere made, and although cheaper sub- 
stances, and more easily to be wrought upon, 
are used chiefly at the present day for the 
production of these works of Art, the Onyx 
is still extensively employed. The peculiari- 
ty which iits it for this branch of Art is its 
composition of different coloured strata, of 
which the artist takes advantage in fashion- 
ing figures in relief on and out of the stone. 
If there are two strata, a figure, or a series 
of them, is engraved out of the one, and the 
rest of it is cut awa}', until the other stratum 
a]ipears as a ground for the subject engraved. 
If there are three strata, two figures may be 
engraved, the one most prominent and the 
back ground being of the same colour — the 
intermediate one being of a different hue. 

The colours of the different layers of the 
Onyx are black, (or dark,) and white. 

The principal supply of this stone now 
comes from Oberstein, in Prussian Saxony, 
though some are furnished both by the East 
Indies and Brazil. 

As gocd specimens of these stones are 
scarce, it has become common even in Saxony 
to stain in imitation of it common uncolored 
specimens of calcedony. This mineral in all 
its varieties consists of strata of different 
degrees of density, though oftener all of the 
same colour — a nebulous milky gray. It 
will absorb fluids in the direction of the 
strata, which, on account of the diversity of 
their structure, will, though all be gray, if 
tiie whole stone be dyed with one material, 
present tints widely marked in hue. This is 
a business extensively carried on at the 
towns of Oberstein and Idar. 

The Onyx itself is treated also chemically 
at these places, to increase the contrast be- 
tween its white and dark layers. This is 
effected principally by sulphuric acid. 



These imitations, as well as the Onyx 
itself, are very hard and expensive to en- 
grave ; a cheaper and softer material was 
therefore sought and found in shells, and of 
this substance are made the greater propor- 
tion of Cameos we now meet with. Among 
the shells fitted for the purpose is the "Bull's 
Mouth," from Ceylon and Madagascar, hav- 
ing a red inner coat ; the "Black Helmet," 
from Jamaica, Nassau, and New Providence, 
having a blackish inner coat ; and the 
"Queen Conch," having a pink coat. The 
"Black Helmet" is the largest, a single shell 
often furnishing two or three Cameos of the 
size usually adopted for breast-pins. All 
these shells have three several layers, depo- 
sited successively by the secretion of the 
mollusc, white forming its calcareous domicil. 
The substance was introduced in the manu- 
facture of Cameos in Sicily, only about fifty 
years ago. It was restricted to that island 
and the Italian peninsula for about twenty 
years, but, an emigrant Italian then com- 
mencing the manufacture in Paris, that city 
has since been the head quarters of the Art. 

A still cheaper material for Cameos has 
been found in glass. It is prepared by ce- 
menting together two layers of different 
colours. The figures are cut upon the glass 
in the same manner that all cut-glass ware 
is decorated. If done carefully they look 
extremely well. 

But to revert to the Onyx itself — it is a 
stone knoAvn from the earliest times. The 
Bible calls it the " Stone of Stones," and in 
China it is stiid to be reserved for the Em- 
peror exclusively. 

The name of this stone is derived from a 
Greek word, identical in its spelling, signify- 
ing the finger-nail, a derivation which, (if 
the word was then as now applied only to 
those specimens of calcedony formed of white 
and black streaks,) would seem to indicate 
that this God-like race were accustomed to 
wear theirs in mourning! 

In the Green Vault at Dresden is an Onyx 
valued on account of its clearness, and 
reckoned to be worth forty-eight thousand 
thalers. It is regarded as one of the principal 
curiosities in this collection. There is a very 
slight flaw in it, but the artists dared not cut 
it deeper, under the apprehension that, 
though they might thus make it a perfect 
gem, they might also make the original im- 
perfection more perceptible. It is about 
three inches long, and of neaidy the same 
width. 

Dioscorides says that, if worn about the 
neck as an amulet, it will excite the passions, 
and stir up strife, and that it will serve as a 
preventive against epileptic fits. 

Appianus says that Mithridates, King of 
Poutus, had two thousand cups made of this 
stone among his household treasures. 



JEWELRY AND THE PRECIOUS STOXES. 



29 



Thomas Nicols, speakinj^ of the calccdo- 
nies, says that its " chief'est use is in seals; 
lor it scaleth freely, without any devouring 
of the wax." 

Baccius says that it drives away evil 
spirits, is good against melancholy, and will 
ensure victory to the bearer of it. 

Bo*!) the Greeks and the Romans carried 
the Art of Cameo, as well as Intaglio, en- 
graving, to the highest pitch of perfection, 
and the Italians, 'as successors to the latter, 
are at the present day the most skilful cut- 
ters existing. Between the best antique and 
modern Cameos it is exceedingly ditticult, if 
not impossible, to tell the ditference, and 
even the greatest connoisseurs are at fault.- 

The Apotheosis of Augustus is a celebra- 
ted historical Cameo, of very large diame- 
ter, comprising four layers, two white and 
two brown, which are skilfully turned to ac- 
count. It is not within our limits however 
to give individual descriptions of celebrated 
Cameos, as they exist in so great numbers, 
but the reader may refer with much pleasure 
and profit to the Avork, whose title is given 
in the note at the foot of this column.* Here 
are two quarto volumes, the whole of the 
first and the half of tiie second of which con- 
sist of descriptions of all the best engravings 
upon stones that have ever been executed. 
The remainder of the second volume is occu- 
pied with well executed drawings of the most 
prominent subjects described. Some are 
very beautiful — some are very curious. 

It may be asked what peculiar force is con- 
tained in the word Cameo, when the expres- 
sion, relievo engraving, seems to cover the 
whole ground. The answer is that the word 
Cameo, whatever may have been the origin of 
the word, implies now not only atigure in re- 
lief, but that the ground upon which it rests is 
of a different colour from the figure itself. A 
Medallion is in no case a Cameo, nor would 
an artificial colouring of any portion of it 
render it so — the diversity of tints of the 
Cameo, it is understood, must be natural, or 
at least an imitation of some natural produc- 
tion. 

Intaglio is the term used to express an en- 
graving sunk below the surface of the stone, 
as is required for a seal, in order to re-pro- 
duce the subject in relief in impressions 
upon wax. 

The Sardonyx is a stone of the same spe- 
cies as tiie Onyx, and differs from it only in 
^/ this, that its layers instead of being black 
and white, are pink, (or red,) and white. It 



* Catalogue raisonnfi d'une Collection Genernle de 
Pierres Gravees Antiques ot Moderues taut en Creux que 
CaniOes, tii'oes des Cabinets lea plus celobres de I'Kurope. 
WouIl'cs en putes de couleurs a I'iuiitation des pierres, 
emaux blancs et Soufres par .Tacques Tassie, Sculpteur. 
31is en ordro, et le text6 redijro par II. H. Kaspe. Urno de 
pluncbes gravees, etc.. 2 Tomes, 4to. A Loudres. 1791. 



is found in the same localities and is used for 
precisely identical purposes. The name is 
formetl from the two Avords, saixlhis, applied 
by tlie ancients to the Carnelian,on accountof 
its similarity of hvie to the flesh of a fisii of 
the same name, or because found in Sardinia, 
and oni/x, the finger-nail — the whole signi- 
fying, we suppose, a red ami wliite finger- 
nail, and so called by way of distinction from 
black and white streaked specimens of cal- 
cedony, which were honored with the generic 
name of Onyx ! 

Nicols says : " The China vessels, which 
are brought into these parts, are supposed to 
be made of this stone and the fatter part of 
the earth boylcd together." 

The Heliotrope is a species of calcedony, 
and is of a dark-green color, sprinkled with 
deep-red spots, whence it is sometimes named 
blood-stone. The name. Heliotrope, comea 
from two Greek words, hclios and tropB — siui 
and turning — it having, according to some, 
been anciently employed for observing the 
sun. 

It occurs in obtuse masses, with translu- 
cent edges, and is of a resinous lustre. It is 
found in Siberia, in the Faroe Islands, in 
Scotland, in several countries of Asia and 
Africa, and in some portions of the United 
States. 

It is chiefly employed for sword and dag- 
ger hilts, for snufF-)K)xes, and the ordinary 
articles of Jewelry. Ii is much admired. Its 
price is measured by its number of red spots, 
a good and large specimen often bringing 
twenty dollars. 

Its red spots, according to mediaeval super- 
stition, were owing to the blood of Christ 
being diffused through it. 

Nicols also, according to his wont, has re- 
gistered some curious superstitions concern- 
ing it, which we here cite for the reader. 

" It is reported of it, that if it be put into 
water Avhich is directly opposed to the beams 
of the Sun, it will make the water bojd, and 
cause it to be resolved into a cloud, which 
not long after is dissolved into dropps of rain. 
And that if it be put into fair water, opposed 
to the beams of the Snnne, it doth change its 
beams, and by the repercussion of the aire, 
seem to shadow the clearnesse of its rayes; 
and so to induce a sanguineous colour in the 
aire, as if the Sun, by the interposition of the 
body of the Moon, did suti'ar au ecliptick 
darknesse." 

" There is a report, which ariseth of the im- 
pudence of Magicians, that if this gcmnie be 
anointed with the juyce of a Marigold, it will 
cause him that carrieth it to walk invisible. 
So saith Plinie." 

The Chrysolite. The authorities are un- 
usually at odds respecting this stone, so that 
it is very difficult to make out an uuim- 



30 



JEWELRY AND THE PRECIOUS STONES. 



peachable description of it. The name is 
gignificant enough, " golden, or gold stone." 

It would seem there are several varieties 
of this gem, the two principal of vrhich are 
called the Chrysolite, par excellence, and the 
olivine-species — the former embracing all 
fine, green-colored and crj'stalized varieties — 
the latter all less pellucid and inferior-colored 
species. The Chrysolite comes principally 
through Constantinople from some region 
unknown, though occasionally also from 
Brazil. 

The olivine specimens are found in several 
countries of Germany, in many parts of Scot- 
land, in Russia, Siberia, South America, and 
in a few of the States of our Union. It occurs 
chiefly in basalt, but also in some lavas, and 
in several species of rock. It is rarely, 
though occasionally crystallzed. Fine large 
specimens are not unfrequently found, and 
this stone, though of indifferent color, from 
its taking a high polish, is sometimes sold 
for considerable sums. Two were vended in 
Paris at 600 francs each. 

The largest specimen known weighs six- 
teen pounds. It was found in IMinas Novas, 
and is in possession of the Brazilian Crown. 

Both these species of the Chrysolite are 
used for ornament, though not to any great 
extent. 

It will be remembered that this is one of 
the stones in John's description of the New 
Jerusalem. 

Nicols says : 

" It is of such excellent faculties, as that 
it is said of it, that it freeth men from pas- 
sions, and from sadnesse of the mind. And 
that if it be cast into scalding hot or boyling 
water, it doth so asswage in a wonderfull 
manner, and so in an instant, and of a sud- 
dain astonish and stupifie its heat and fer- 
vour, as that it straight taketh away all its 
boyling, and its heat, and a man may in that 
very instant in which it was put in, put his 
hand Avithout any hurt or danger into that 
water which even now with the fervency of 
heat boyled up. For this cause it is thought to. 
be a very excellent remedy for the mitigating 
of choler and of cholerick passions. It is 
reported of it that it doth drive away noc- 
turnal fears ; and that it is a very effectual 
amulet against cholerick distempers of the 
brain. 

Authours do say of it, that if it be put 
upon a table where poyson is or venome is 
left, it will straight-way fail of its splendour, 
and loose its glory, and so soon as the poyson 
or venome is taken away, it will recover all 
its glory again; wonderfull is this also which 
is reported of this stone, namely, that it doth 
increase and decrease in its strength of 
powers and foculties, according to the in- 
crease and decrease of the jMoon." 

The 'Hyacinth. AVriters differ about the 



identity of this stone, as about so many 
others. We suspect the cause of these dif- 
ferences is chiefly, that they are speaking 
about varieties of the same stone. Without 
essaying the difficult and protracted task of 
reconciling their discrepancies, we shall take 
for our main authority, the latest, and, in our 
view, the ablest of these writers, James 
Nicol. He holds the Hyacinth to be identi- 
cal with the "zircon." 

This stone occurs in imbedded crystals, 
chiefly prismatic or pyramidal, and in round- 
ed grains. It is in its several species not 
only red, but gray, yellow, green, and color- 
less. 

It is most abundant in the sienite of 
Southern Norway and in the miascite of the 
Ural Mountains. It abounds in numerous 
parts of Europe, as also of North America. 

The colorless varieties are often sold for 
Diamonds. The specific name Hyacinth, is 
more particularly appropriated to the most 
brilliantly colored ones, Avliich are rarely of 
large size. The "hyacinthus" of the ancients 
is believed by scientific writers to have been 
a different stone. 

Nicols of course has some traditions 
about it. 

" One of these Cardanus saith he was wont 
to wear al)0ut him, to the intent of procuring 
sleep; to which purpose he saith it did seem 
somewhat to conferre, but not much." 

" Cardanus in his book cle lapidihiis prt- 
iiosis, saith, that it is endued with a power 
and focultie of procuring sleep, of chearing 
the heart, of driving away plagues, of se- 
curing from thunder, and of increasingriches, 
honour, and wisdome, &c., being worn in a 
ring on the finger, or about the neck as an 
amulet." 

The Cat's-eye. This stone takes its name 
from the peculiar play of light on its surfixce, 
whereby it variously appears greenish-white 
or gray, olive-green, red, brown or yellow. 
It contains parallel fibres, resembling those 
of amianthus or mountain-flax. The finest 
come from Ceylon and JMalabar, but it is 
also found in the Hartz Mountains, in Ba- 
varia, and in several of the United States. 

It is a species of the universal quartz, and 
is found, never larger than a hazel nut, in 
tiio fragments of boulders and gangs. It ia 
valued according to the size, color and play 
of light. In the Imperial Cabinet at Vienna 
a Cat's-ej'e, five inches long, and of a yellow- 
ish-brown color, is preserved. 

Some of the ancients called this stone 
"oculus solis," or ej'e of the sun, and the Per- 
sians named it "mithrax," the sun. This stone 
is, at the present day, a great fivvourite in 
China, and commands a high price there. 

Nicols has his tradition concerning it. 

" This stone is greatly esteemed amongst 



JEWELRY AND THE PRECIOUS STONES. 



31 



the In<lians, because tlioy are porswadeil of 
the ilevill, that he that -wcaroth it cannot 
want riches : antj for this cause that ■\viiich 
in Lusitania is sold for 90 anrci, is anionjfst 
the Indians esteemed worth OiH) aiirei. It is 
usually of the same price and esteem with 
the ('pains. " 

Tiie heantiful and popular stone called the 
Ojnil ii next in our order. AVe shall open onr 
description of this favorite gem with our ex- 
cellent old friend ^"icols's rhapsodic outburst. 
" The t)palus is a prctious stone, which hath 
in it the bright, fiery flame of a Carbuncle, the 
pure, refulgent purple of an Amethyst, and 
a whole sea of the Emerald's spring glory, 
or virescency, and every one of tliem shining 
with an incredible mixture, and very much 
pleasure." To our excellent friend's account 
we must add that the finest species of this 
gtone emit also the yellow of the Topaz and 
the blue of the Sapphire. It is, in one word, 
a natural prism, which, like the soap bublile 
or the three cornered glass, decompounds the 
sunbeam into its elements. About the cause 
of this decomposition " doctors disagree." 
Brewster's theory seems the most plausible, 
viz. that this cause is the existence of fissures 
and cracks in the interior of the mass. 

Professor Nicol notices nine varieties of 
this gem, all possessing more or fewer of the 
same general characteristics. Our space will 
permit our touching on but one. We may 
premise, that the name is derived from the 
Greek "ops," eye — the Greeks, who highly 
valued the stone, believing it to have the 
power of strengthening the eye. We may 
add here, to save a fresh reference, that the 
Greeks fancied it had the effect to conciliate 
universal good will to its possessor, and 
therefore named it also "paideros," i. e. love 
of children. In the Apocalypse, Saint John 
compares the Celestial City, as a whole, to 
an Opal, as exhibiting all colors at once. 

The finest of the Opal species is called the 
precious or noble Opal. Nicols names 
various parts of the East as producing it. 
Recent writers contradict him and say that 
Hungary, Saxony, the Faroe Islands, and 
South America are its native localities. It is 
found in small gangs and nests of the vol- 
canic porphyry formation. 

This gem is used for rings, necklaces and 
diadems — the smaller specimens for mount- 
ing snuiT-boxes, rings, &c.. It still stands in 
very high estimation, though probably not so 
high as among the Romans, in Avhose day it 
was said, that Nonius, a Roman Senator, 
chose banishment rather than surrender a 
splendid Opal to jMark Anthony. Its present 
estimation may be judged from the fact that 
a single large Opal was lately sold in I'hirope 
for 150,000 dollars. This gem has never yet 
been imitated. 

The Imperial Mineralogical Cabinet at 



Vienna contains a precious Opal weighing 
seventeen ounces ; and among the French 
Jewels is a cloak-clasp mounted with an 
Opal, valued at 37,500 francs. It is surround- 
ed with 11)7 other Brilliants. 

Of the other eight species of this stone we 
will not here speak, since some idea of them 
may be gotten from the above description. 

\{g cannot better close, than by a touch 
from our friend Nicols on the "vertuesof 
this stone." 

" It is reported of this stone, that it shar- 
peneth the sight of the possessours of it, and 
cloudcth the eyes of those that stand about 
him, so that they can either not see, or not 
miiul what is done before them : for thia 
cause it is asserted to be a safe patron of 
thieves and thefts ; as it is related in Lapi- 
dario." 

The Pearl has always ranked very high 
among the ornamental stones, though far less 
costly than many of the others. It has been 
a special favorite with tlie ladies — more par- 
ticularly with the young ladies — from time 
immemorial. It would be a sufficient evi- 
dence of this fact, if we even possessed no 
other, that it has passed into a figure of 
speech to typify whatever is peculiarly pure 
and precious. The " pearl of great price" I 
is one of the most sacred proverbs of our' 
language. " IMy pearl of beauty," as all 
readers of oriental literature are aware, is a 
common title applied to a loved one, by the 
poets and tlie poetic feeling of Persia and 
llindostan. And, indeed, tliere is an aspect 
of purity, chasteness a))d sweetness in this 
gem, when employed in the decoration of a 
lovely female, which is lacking in other gems 
ot tar more imposing appearance. 

But, as, according to the Napoleonic adage, 
" there is but a step from the sublime to the 
ridiculous" — as, according to a second anony- 
mous proverb, " extremes meet" — and as, 
according to Pope, "whatever w, is right" — 
"in erring Reason's spite" — this beautiful, 
pure and most valued gem is declared, by 
the savants, to be a diseased or purulent se- 
cretion of an animal, standing or lying, in the 
scale of existences, as nigh to the vegetable 
or the mineral, as it well ccuild do without a 
complete identification with the same. Thia 
animal is a species of oyster, Avhich, unlike 
its luscious synonym, is perfectly inedible, 
and would seem constituted, so far as Ave can 
judge, to get wounded, to suffer a seven 
years' mala<ly, and then die for the purpose 
of embellishing the ear, the neck, the bosom, 
or the wrist of those who are distractiugly 
charming already I 

The sounder opinion of the origin seems 
to be, that some minute substance, such, for 
example, as a grain of sand, having got 
lodged within the shell of the creature, pro- 
duces irritation, like a pebble within one's 



32 



JEWELRY AND THE PPvECIOUS STONES. 



boot, and unaUe to " out -with it," the toi-- 
niented animal makes the best of a bad mat- 
ter by covering it with a calcareous excre- 
tion from its own substance. It was once 
fancied, that some external injury was es- 
sential to the production of the Pearl, but an 
experiment, suggested by the celebrated 
Linnajus, to pierce small holes in the shell 
of this oyster and then restore it to its ori- 
ginal bed, proved unsuccessful. The Chinese, 
however, are reported to have succeeded in 
something like this experiment. They thread 
upon fine silk small beads of Mother of Pearl, 
and introduce them into the shells of these 
animals, where they are speedily covered 
with a calcareous secretion, which converts 
them into veritable Pearls. The ancients 
poetically described these gems as drops of 
dew falling into the shells, when the animals 
rise to the surface in the month of May, and 
becoming transmuted into Pearls by some 
unexplainable action of the sun's rays. 

Pearl fisheries exist in various portions of 
the globe, though at present the most pro- 
ductive are those ofl' the island of Ceylon, on 
the coast of Coromandel and in the Persian 
Gulf. The Pvomans, it is said, found Pearls 
in Britain two thousand years ago, and iu 
modern times the Scotish rivers have sup- 
plied considerable quantities, though not of 
the finest quality. Several German rivers 
and two or three Russian provinces also fur- 
nish them, as do likewise the Bay of Panama 
and the coast of Colombia, in this Western 
hemisphere, though the last-named are pro- 
nounced inferior to those of the Orient. 

Ceylon, however, would seem to be the 
principal present fishery for this species of 
gem. The scene presented at the time, which 
embraces the months of April and May, is 
described as being very striking. One hun- 
dred and fifty thousand people are assembled 
here from all quarters of the East, and are 
lodged in huts on the sea-shore, composed of 
a few poles stuck in the ground, interwoven 
■with bamboo and covered with the leaves of 
the cocoa-nut palm. Of course this number 
of men occupy a large fleet of boats, each of 
which carries a captain, a pilot, and twenty 
men, of which last ten are experienced 
divers. Five of these descend at once, each 
carrying a net or basket to contain the mus- 
sels, together with a strong knife for detach- 
ing them, as also for defence against the 
sharks. These divers remain under Avater 
from fifty seconds up to two minutes. They 
are able to make furty or fifty plunges in a 
day, and to bring up, on each occasion, about 
one hundred oysters. 

Each boat-owner has a shallow pit fenced 
round, in wdiich his oysters are stored and 
allowed to putrefy under a burning sun. 
When thoroughly dried, they are drenched 
in sea-water, after which they are easily 



opened and render their pearly contents. 
The Pearl is not attached to the shell but 
is loose within it. The finest Pearls are per- 
fectly globular, white, radiant, and seemingly 
translucent without being actually so. ■ 

In order to clean, round and polish the 
Pearls to the state in which we see them, a 
powder is employed, which is made of the 
Pearls themselves. 

Mother of Pearl is the interior, silvery 
layer of various shells, especially those 
of oysters abounding in the East Indian 
Seas, and is so valuable as to be employed 
for various purposes of manufiicture. The 
beautiful tints of this substance are owing to 
its surface being covered with minute grooves, 
which decompose the reflected light of the 
sun. Sir David Brewster is said to have first 
discovered this structure of the shell. These 
grooves are often so small, that, as seen by 
the microscope, three thousand of them are 
comprised within a single inch. 

The art of making artificial Pearls has, by 
the Parisian manufacturers, been brought to 
such perfection, that even professional 
dealers cannot, in all cases, distinguish 
between the real and the imitative. This 
art originated with a French bead-maker, 
named Jasmin, who noticed that a certain 
small fish, when washed, deposited fine, 
silver-colored particles in the water. These 
particles he found to possess much of the 
lustre of Pearls, and, having made small 
beads of gypsum, and covered them with this 
substance, he found them greatly admired 
and sought after. With certain alterations, 
suggested by the ladies themselves, he raised 
this manufacture into a lucrative business. 
Four thousand of these fishes are required to 
supply one ounce of these Pearl-manufac- 
turing scales, and it was discovered, even- 
tually, that they might be preserved from 
putrefaction by immersion iu a solution of 
ammonia. 

Tavernier gives us engravings of the large 
Pearls he saw in his travels. 

First he describes one " belonging to the 
King of Persia, bought in 1G33 from an 
Arab, for 32,000 tomans, (about $280,000.) 
It is the largest Pearl ever discovered, and is 
without a single defect. It is of a perfect 
pear-shape." 

" N'o 2," he says, " represents the largest 
Pearl I saw at the Court of the Great Mogul. 
It hangs from the neck of a peacock made of 
precious stones, and comes down upon its 
breast. The peacock surmounts the great 
throne. It is of a pear-shape." 

The next, of the same shape, and weighing 
fifty-five carats, was sold by Tavernier to 
Shah Est Khan, Uncle of the Great Mogul, 
Governor of Bengal. It was of fine water, 
and came from the West Indian Fisheries. 

"N'o 4 is olive-shaped. It was of fine 



JEWELRY AND THE PRECIOUS STONES. 



33 



quality, and was in the midst of a chain of 
Emeralds and Rubies, worn sometimes by 
the Great Mogul about his rock." 

" Njo 5," says our traveller, " is the 
largest round Pearl I have ever known. It 
is in possession of the Great jMogul, but, be- 
cause its match has never been found, it is 
not used. If its fellow should ever be ob- 
tained, they would be worn as ear-rings, each 
Pearl Ijctween two Rubies or two Emeralds, 
according to the^custom of this country. For 
here every one, whatever his means, wears 
at each ear a Pearl between two colored 
B tones." 

Anotlier one is thus referred to by him : — 
" Imenhect, Prince of Mascate, which name 
■he Arabian Aceph Ben Ali, Prince of Nore- 
Bua6, assumed when he took from the Por- 
tuguese the Province of Mascate, the best 
part of Arabia Felix, possesses the most 
beautiful Pearl in the world, not remarkable 
for its size, for it weighs only twelve and 
one-sixteenth carats, nor for its rotundity, 
but for its transparency, being so clear that 
the daylight almost shines through it. The 
Khan of Ornius, wishing to present it to the 
Kingof Persia, offered 2,000 tomans (§18,000) 
for it, and the Great Mogul sent an envoy 
offering 40,000 crowns for it, but the Arab 
refused to sell it." 

" The History of Jewels," before quoted, 
thus describes the discovery of the West 
India Pearl fisheries : 

" This Island Cubagua was discovered by 
that famous Genouese Christopher Columbus, 
■who having perceived a small boat Avith some 
fishers in it, and a woman who had three 
rows of fair Pearl about her neck, said to his 
companions, that he thanked God he had 
now discovered the most rich countrey in 
the world. He broke an earthen plate of 
divers colours, and for a piece or two of it 
this woman gave him very willingly a row of 
these Pearls, and for another plate he re- 
ceived many others, and learned of the 
Indians the place and manner of their fishing 
for Pearls." 

To the I'earl, swallowed, according to his- 
tory, by Cleopatra, Pliny attributes the value 
of a province. The Emperor Charles V lost 
one as large as a pigeon's egg. In Spain 
there is a statue of the Blessed Virgin, v\-ear- 
ing a garb, completely covered with Pearls, 

The Pearls belonging to the French Crown, 
now exposed in the Exhibition at Paris, con- 
sist of fifteen rows, and numbers of them are 
described as of the size of a small bird's egg, 
and of incomparable purity and whiteness. 

For a long time a cosmetic for women was 
prepared from "Mother of Pearl," and the 
Pearl itself was employed as a medicine. 

Our old friend Nicols says that Pearls 
■worn upon the person are good for the sight. 

We shall conclude our remarks upon the 



Pearl by translating another paragraph from 
Tavernier. 

" Pearls are white, yellow, black, and lead- 
colored — the first being most esteemed in the 
East. In fine, the Orientals have pretty 
much our own tastes in regard to whiteness. 
I have always remarked tliat they prefer the 
whitest Pearls, the whitest Diamonds, the 
whitest bread, and the whitest women." 

The Turquoise. The name of this gem is 
supposed to be derived from Turkev, the 
country whose merchants first brought it 
into the Western markets. Persia seems to 
have been the country where it was earliest 
found. But it hns since been discovered in 
Khorassan, Bucharia, and the Syrian Desert. 
Its lustre is dull or waxy, and its colors arc, 
variously, sky-blue, greenish-blue, occasion- 
ally apple-green, and S(mietimes yellowish. 
This is the genuine or Oriental Turquoise. It 
is found on small gangs of bog-ore, in sili- 
cious shiste, in boulders, &c.. 

There is another stone called Turquoise — 
generally Occidental Turquoise — which Pro- 
fessor Nicol treats as rather an imitation, 
than a genuine Turquoise. It is supposed 
to consist of fossil, antediluvian teeth, color- 
ed by hydrated copper-oxide or phosphate of 
iron. The principal localities of this are 
certain portions of Siberia and France. 
Its color is light-blue, or dark-ldue, or 
bluish-green. It is easily distinguished from 
the Oriental species by being internally 
foliated and streaked—a fact indicating a 
bony composition — and by its not taking so 
high a polish. The blue specimens often 
turn pale or green with age, but their colour 
may frequently be restored by scraping them 
and putting them in hot ashes, and then sub- 
jecting them to a new polish. MM. Du- 
hamel and Guettard proved many yeais ago 
that the bones of animals could be coloured 
by making them eat madder. 

The Oriental Turquoise takes a fine polish 
and is so highly valued in the East, as an 
ornamental stone, that the Persian Shah re- 
tains the best specimens for his own use. 

Both kinds are used for numerous pur- 
poses in Jewelry, such as for rings, brooches, 
&c., as also for mounting other precious 
gems. 

The price of the Turquoise has greatly 
fallen within the last ten years. The Oriental 
is generally four times liigher than that of 
the Occidental, one of pea-size being worth 
about five dollars. 

There is said to be a Jeweler in Moscow, 
wko possesses a Turquoise two inches long, 
formerly belonging to Nadir, the Shah of 
Persia, who wore it as an amulet. He values 
it at 5,000 roubles. 

In the Museum of the Imperial Academy 
at Moscow is a Turquoise more than three 



34 



JEWELRY AND THE PRECIOUS STONES. 



inches long and one inch broad. And among 
the Imperuil Trensuresat Jtloscow is a throne 
covered Avith gohl and studded with two 
thousand Turquoises. 

The Turqucjise has long been employed as 
a medicine — probably under the impulse of 
the same notions, which are embodied in the 
following extract from Nicols, with which we 
close : 

" As that if it be worn in a ring of gold it 
will preserve men from falls, and from the 
bruises proceeding of them, by receiving that 
barm into itself which otherwise would fall 
upon the man: yet these vertucs are said not 
to be in this gemm except the gemm be re- 
ceived of gift. 

It is likewise aaid to take away all enmity 
and to reconcile man and wife. 

Rueus saith that he saw a Turchoys which 
upon the death of its master lost all its 
beauty and contracted a cleft, Avhich a certain 
man afterwards buying at an under price re- 
turned again to its former glory and beauty, 
as if saith he, by a certain sense it had per- 
ceived itself to have found a new master. 
The same author saith of it, that it doth 
change, grow pale, and destitute of its native 
color, if he that weareth it do at any time 
grow infirm or weak ; and again upon the 
recovery of its master, that it doth recover 
its own lovely beauty which ariseth of the 
temperament of its own naturall heat, and 
becomcth ceruleous like a sereue heaven. 

This stone is very delightful! to the eye, 
and is thought much to strengthen the sight, 
because it doth not by its over brightnesse 
too much dissipate the visive faculty, nor by 
its overmuch oLscurenesse too much concen- 
trate the visive faculty." 

We have now gone over the whole ground 
of the precious stones as we marked it out 
in our opening pages. The next thing of 
importance to state is the names of the most 
celebrated Jewelers of the present day. They 
are as follows : 

First, in Paris: The house of M. Froment- 
Meurice. Q'he founder of the reputation of 
this house lately died, but his son, though 
young, gives evidence of reaching the very 
highest rank in his profession. He has 
indeed already acquired the name of the 
modern "Benvenuto." Ilis cups, vases, plat- 
ters, statuettes, &c., in gold and silver, have 
the very highest reputation. M. Bapst's 
name is the most venerable of any in the 
ranks, and he keeps up a reputation with the 
best. M. Lemonnier is the most fashionable 
setter of Diamonds. MINI. Marret et Beau- 

frand have the most comprehensive factory. 
IM. Marret et Jarry, also celebrated set- 
ters of Diamonds. MM. Ouizille et Le- 
moine, manufacturers of emblems of the 
various Orders of Chivalry. IM. Janvier, 
whose specialty is the bijou de fautaisie. 



And MM. Odot, Rouvenat, Lecoiute, and Pe- 
titeau. 

Second, in London : Mess'rs Hunt & Ros- 
kell, (late Mess'rs Storr & Mortimer,) are at 
once the largest and most fashionable manu- 
facturers. Mess'rs R. & S. Garrard & Co. 
have a high reputation for a classical style of 
workmanship in gold and silver. Mess'rs J. 
V. Morel & Co.. Mess'rs Phillips Brothers. 
Mess'rs S. 11. & D. Gass. Mess'rs Henry & 
Co., famous for their insignia of Knighthood, 
Masonry, &c.. And Mess'rs John & Frederick 
Biden, whose specialty is the cutting and 
setting of stones for seals. 

Third, in America: Mess'rs Tiffany & Co. 
in the city of New York. 

Some accountof the manufacture of Jewelry 
is required, we surmise, under so compre- 
hensive a caption as that beneath which we 
write, and this is a Ijranch of our subject we 
enter upon with much satisfaction, as it 
affords us an opportunity of acquitting our- 
selves in some degree of a load of obligation 
contracted in our pursuit of materials for 
this article. We took advantage of a late 
visit to New Y'^ork to call at the celebrated 
manufactory of Tiffaxy, with a view of ob- 
taining, ocularly, some information upon the 
matters interesting our thoughts. 

Having l)roken the ice by the purchase of 
a trille in the shop of the establishment, we 
soon engaged the person in attendance in 
a general conversation upon the Jeweler's 
art, which resulted in our being invited to 
inspect their Avork-shops. We were passed 
over to a most intelligent and agreeable per- 
son, one of the heads of the establishment 
indeed, we inferred from his manner and 
remarks, and, we are in duty bound to 
acknowledge, that we could not have received 
more polite or satisfactory attention had we 
been the purchaser of their great Opal (of 
which we will speak again), or had we been 
an old friend or acquaintance, instead of 
having called there a stranger for the first 
time that very morning. 

Of the many marvels, beauties, ingenuities ^ 
and scenes of interest that we encountered 
in our perigrinations through tiiis prodigious 
hive, we can hope to offer but a foint outline, 
although everything we beheld is still fresh 
in our memory. 

We Avere shewn first the rough materials 
upon which the Jeweler operates ; they 
Avere draAvn forth from deep recesses in fire- 
proof vaults, and appeared before our won- 
dering eyes as massive bars of gold, ingots 
of silver, and handfulls of rough, common 
looking little stones, which Avere in reality 
Diamonds, Rubies, Emeralds, Pearls, and 
others of the sisteidiood of Precious Stones. 
They were kept in numberless little square 
paper boxes, and were exhibited to and hand- 
led by us, as if we were examining samplei 



JEWELRY AND THE PRECIOUS STONES. 



of seeds at a nursery; and unset Cameos, cut 
from the Onyx and Sardonyx, bearing mytho- 
logical and other subjects, vvere as common 
in these quarters as coppers in a ne\vsl)()y's 
pocket. Pints of glittering particles (jf gold 
fro;n California were poured out before us, 
then more boxes were emptied, revealing 
beaiitiful blue Turquoises, or pure and daz- 
zling Ametliysts. In these dingy vaults 
also, and not in the magnificent show-cases, 
were contained -those bits of Jewelry, rings, 
bracelets, necklaces, &c., whose prices were 
estimated, singly, by the thousands of dol- 
lars. 

Having mounted several flights of stairs 
we were ushered into an immense apartment, 
revealing a scene of extraordinary industry. 
Fifty or sixty persons were seated in close 
proximity at tables or counters around the 
room, each one intently engaged upon some 
delicate piece of gold workmanship. Under 
the most stringent regulations the oppor- 
tunities of fraud are very great, and it 
is with a view to have all the operatives act 
as checks upon one another, that they are 
placed in tiiis and all similar establish- 
ments, whilst at work, in such propinquity. 
The workmen here however were believed 
to be remarkably trustworthy, and during 
many years past, our guide informed us, not 
more than half a dozen cases of theft or pe- 
culation had been discovered ; these con- 
sisted, wi' may mention, in a systematic sub- 
straction of their gold filings. 

The workmen are all French and German, 
mostof them unacquainted with our language; 
nor did vo observe even any conversation car- 
ried on amongst themselves. Each one seem- 
ed completely absorbed with some beautiful 
ring, bracelet or other ornament, upon which 
he was filing, chasing, soldering, or setting 
stones. Between euch one and his table, 
beneath its edge, hung a diminutive ham- 
mock, which intercepted the least particle of 
the precious material that fell beneath the 
file or otiier instrument; whilst, behind them 
all, hovering in succession over the shoulders 
of each, moved their head artist and chief of 
this depai tment, giving a word of direction 
here, of explanation or correction there, and 
an occasional dexterous coup de main upon 
the subjects progressing around him. 

Among tliese artists and artisans were a 
number oi' intelligent looking French women, 
who periornied the final polishing of the 
rough creations of their male companions, 
thus fitting the articles to contribute to that 
dazzling ui.~iplay which we had witnessed in 
the sale.-. ;/i. Ill ,)eneath. 

The V iu,c- A' these men vary from fifteen 
to forty 'i-iiars per week — those of tlie women 
from ei- it to len dcllars. 

Before ■K? operatives are seen lathes, dies, 
furnace-s, ■ .tnng and stamping macliiues, 



circular saws, blow-pipes, borax, pumice- 
stone, solder, pans of aquafortis, box-wood 
sawdust, &e., &c.. The designs upon the dies 
are of endless variety, and may be seen in 
piles around the room. They are themselves 
of great value. 

It is impossible for us to follow through 
every step the progress of the materials 
thi-ough these persons' hands. All around 
us are melting, rolling, cutting, and piercing 
machines, by which the metal is first cut or 
formed into a shape soojcwluit approaching 
that desired. It is then further modelled by 
innumerable ingenious little instruments, 
until it is fitted for chasing by hand, or for 
impression by the desired dies. The pre- 
cious stones are polished by wonderful ma- 
chines, using a little oil, and emery, or Dia- 
mond dust, and saving a vast amount of 
human muscle. This work, performed for- 
merly by hand, was so severe as to cripple 
the operative after about twenty years of 
labor. A lapidary, who had passed the age 
of forty without a contraction of the sinews 
in the wrist, was scarcely to be found. 

The workman before us now sets the stones, 
of course, by hand, tiles away at his subject 
briskly but with delicacy, and finally plunges 
it in an aqua-fortis bath; from this it is trans- 
ferred to a bed of box-wood saw-dust to be 
dried. When taken out we are able to dis- 
cern at this stage what the object is, but it is 
80 dirty and dingy as to be f^xr from attrac- 
tive in its appearance. It is now passed 
over to the women to be polished, some of 
whom, covered with rouge, and other pow- 
ders used for the operation, present, it must 
be confessed, rather a grotesque appearance. 
The ends of their fingers are very peculiar, 
being broad, bent back, and uncommonly 
smooth; and no artificial instrument has been 
found equal to them in imparting a high 
burnish to a surface of gold. Of these 
ouvri^res it may then be literally said that, 
La richesse est au bout de leurs doigts. 

The whole of this floor, the fourth, we be* 
lieve, was occupied in the manner we have 
described, with the exception of a small office 
partitioned off. 

We mounted another flight of stairs, and 
found another workshop e(|ually as large as 
the former, in which a great number of work- 
men were engaged in fashioning candelabra, 
and ormolu gas fixings of the most gorgeous 
description. The artisans here also were 
principally French. AVe observed on this 
floor an immense iron tank, containing 
several thousand gallons of water, as a pre- 
caution against hie. Both this ami the room 
below are lightcid \<y handsome arched win- 
dows, fitted witli plate-glass. 

The manufacture of silverware, in which 
they have about a hundred men employed, 
was described to us as very inleresting, but. 



36 



JEWELRY AND THE PRECIOUS STONES. 



the workshops in this department were in a 
separate building, not visited by us; this one, 
immense as it is, having been found inade- 
quate for the full prosecution of the business 
of this great House. 

We retraced our steps to the ground, and 
in the basement found numbers of men en- 
gaged in the reception and packing of cases, 
this being both the point of entrance and 
exit of nearly all the materials and wares, 
used or manufactured in, or exported from, 
the establishment. The packing of Jewelry 
the reader might consider could not be an 
occupation of great extent, but it must be 
borne in mind that one of the principal 
branches of business at this establishment is 
the wholesale supply of Jewelry to all the 
first class shops in the United States, in- 
cluding those of New York, Boston, and 
Philadelphia. As it is without a competitor 
in Amei'jca in this line, it may be easily 
imagined how subordinate in extent, interest, 
and richness are all the other shops of 
Jewelry, whatever their pretensions, on this 
side of the Atlantic. Why the value of the 
stock on hand here, we were informed, is 
never less in value than a million of dollars! 
The appearance of the sales-room on the 
first floor is of itself worth some description. 
It is of immense size in length, width, and 
height. The ceiling and the wall on one 
side are embellished with skilfully executed 
fresco paintings, cream-colored, gilt, and 
crimson, whilst along the surface of the lat- 
ter are set, equi-distant, half a dozen or more 
large, oval-topped mirrors. Parallel with 
this wall, upon walnut wood counters, extend 
cases for the display of Jewelry. These are 
six or eight feet long each, and six or eight 
in number, all silver mounted, and lined with 
black-velvet. Above each is suspended a 
handsome chandelier. 

Upon the opposite wall you behold a grand 
show-case, for the exhibition of silver-ware, of 
immense length, height, and width, fitted 
with heavy plate glass at the top and on the 
sides, the sashes being of polished black 
walnut. This wall contains a number of 
arched recesses, and at its side, in the centre, 
a spacious stairway of easy slope, for visitors 
to ascend to the show-rooms o>n the second 
and third floors. Separate stair-cases exist 
for that perfect army of perst)ns employed 
about this palace of industry. Down the 
centre of this room stretches a row of ele- 
vated, plate-glass cases in black walnut 
frames, filled with elaborately wrought 
wares. In the rear, beneath a spacious sky- 
light, and in a most retired position, are the 
private offices and those of the Cashier of the 
establishment. The whole interior is char- 
acterized by a chaste and simple richness: 
and so admirable is the taste presiding over 
the arrangement and the multifarious con- 



tents of this apartment, that you are re- 
minded, by the spectacle, rather of a palace 
or a museum, than of a mart of traffic. 

In this magnificent apartment are to be 
found specimens of Jewelry which Royalty 
itself would covet, which are unsurpassed by 
any in the celebrated magasins d'orfevrerk 
of Europe, and are far from being equalled 
by the richest articles contained in the stock 
of any other establishment in America. 

There was, first, a bracelet of chain gold 
bearing in fi-ont a large oval-shaped Opal of 
the first quality, and the largest in the world 
in possession of a private individual. Our 
guide informed us that their House had been 
five years in treaty for this stone. It was 
surrounded by sixteen Diamonds of uniform 
size, weighing about two carats each. To 
this cluster was suspended a solitary stone, 
full of fire, of perfect shape, entirely free from 
defects of any nature, and of the first water. 
It is the largest perfect Diamond that has 
ever been brought to this country, weighing 
nearly eleven carats, and is of such pure 
water that its first carat is estimated at fifty 
dollars. The centre cluster and the solitaire 
Diamond may be detached from the bracelet, 
so as to be worn, if desired, in a necklace, 
feroni^re, or otherwise. The value of this 
bracelet was of itself a small fortune. 

We next examined a necklace, bracelet, 
ear-rings, and brooch of Pearls and Dia- 
monds, which would have raised powerful 
emotions in the breasts of some of our fair 
readers, no doubt. Imagine a necklace of 
twenty-five, large, perfectly globular, equal 
sized, bright, and glossy Pearls, and in 
the centre of them a cluster of superb Dia- 
monds. All the other pieces of this set were 
in the same style, and the price of the whole 
was five or six thousand dollars. 

We remember a gorgeous bracelet of three 
bands of gold, covered with a perfect shower 
of Diamonds, the price of which was between 
one and two thousand dollars ; another neck- 
lace at three or four thousand dollars, con- 
taining upwards of a hundred Diamonds ; 
another of Pearls, with a Diamond cross at- 
tached, at a thousand and some dollars ; a 
bracelet of four rows of closely set Pearls of 
uniform size, intersected with four rows of 
Diamonds, at about a thousand dollars ; a 
iady's chatelaine, containing a tiny watch, 
with a globnlar Pearl pendant, at a couple 
of thousands. There was another lady's 
watch, with Diamonds around the fiice, and 
a superb Diamond star in the ce-ntre of a 
green enameled back. A green enameled 
heart, covered with Diamonds, u|x>n being 
pressed at the side, opened and revealed a 
watch half an inch in diameter I Another 
watch specimen may be worth describing. 
It was a bracelet of thick hinged gold, fas- 
tening with a serpent's head of Diamonds. 



JEWELRY AND THE PRECIOUS STONES. 



37 



The centre piece was a circle of Diamonds, 
containing the precious little time-keeper; 
the back was of blue enamel, and either that 
or th'e face could be worn exposed to the 
view. 

,We saw a thousand dollar necklace of ena- 
meled berries and Diamonds; another of two 
TOViS of Diamonds intersected with Emeralds; 
a bracelet consisting of a green enameled 
serpent, with a head of Diamonds, in which 
could be distinjcuislied, so exquisite was the 
workmanship, the teeth and tongue; its eyes 
were Rubies, and on the top of its head was 
a Sapphire ; another bracelet in the form of 
a garter of Opals, with a buckle of Diamonds; 
a breastpin in the form of a butterfly, the 
back of Opals, the wings of Diamonds, set to 
shine upon both sides, as the wings were 
movable ; a bracelet of heavy filigree gold, 
with an oval centre piece, consisting of an 
Opal surrounded by two rows of Diamonds. 

We were much interested in an appeal to 
our masculine fimcy. It w^as a solid gold 
cigar case, covered with exquisite enamel of 
white, green and blue, with six fine minia- 
ture landscape paintings of Swiss scenes. 
They were Lucerne, Berne, the Chapel of 
William Tell, Chamouni, Geneva and Mount 
Saint Bernard. Minute as were these paint- 
ings, we found them able to bear the strictest 
scrutin}'^ with a magnifying glass. The top 
opened with a spring, revealing a watch-face 
as large as a gold dollar: the watch how- 
ever may have been an excellent time-keeper, 
as the movement of it was as large as the 
top of th« cigar ease. 

An intricate thousand dollar plaything 
was shewn us in the shape of a gold and 
blue enameled pistol covered with Diamonds- 
It was about six inches long, and contained 
in its stock a watch and a scent box. Upon 
pulling the trigger the barrel expanded to 
the form of a bouquet holder. 

We now passed to a case containing the 
Cameos, which were innumerable in variety, 
among them several antiques set with Pearls 
and Diamonds, which had belonged to the 
Crown Jewels of Napoleon. They were ob- 
tained abroad of some members of Louis 
Philippe's family. Those Cameos, cut from 
stones containing three veins, were exqui- 
sitely l>eautiful; among them we remember 
one with a black ground, bearing a chariot 
and a horse perfectly white, and then, in still 
'higher relief, another horse black as jet. This 
was of large size, and was estimated at one 
iiundred and fiftj dollars. Another consisted 
of a white female head upon a dark ground, 
•and in high relief upon the bead a black 
wreath of flowers. There were innumerable 
exquisitely cut Madonnas and Cupids, both 
jn the Onyx and Sardonyx, at prices ranging 
l)etween fifty and a hundred dollars. 

Because in our descriptions of manj pieces 



of workmanship we have stated their value, 
as nearly as we recollect them, it must not 
be inferred that we annoyed the person in 
attendance by asking the price of every arti- 
cle passed in review. A system here pre- 
vails which rendered such a proceeding un- 
necessary. To every object, however costly, 
however insignificant in value, was attached 
a label, bearing its price in legible figures. 
This is a plan which should be adopted in 
shops for every kind of wares. 

A most beautiful flower vase for a centre 
piece had just been completed. It was 
supported by four frosted statuettes of solid 
silver, emblematic of the four elements. 
' Although what we remember is but a 
small fraction of all we beheld, we are com- 
pelled to forego the description of many 
things still recalled, for want of space. Let 
the reader imagine, besides such articles as 
we have described, gold and enameled card 
cases and porte-monnaies, set with Dia- 
monds, and bearing watches and miniature 
paintings, and costing hundreds of dollars ; 
serpent bracelets of finely polished coral; 
enameled shields, little golden 7-eal pistols, 
that could be loaded with powder and fired, 
aad other trinkets set with Diamonds, to be 
worn upon chatelaines; pins and rings of 
Diamond flies ; perfect ropes of gold for 
necklaces ; and a tiiousand other forms of 
Jewelry; and he will then have but a faint 
idea of the wonders and temptations exposed 
in this gorgeous temple of Art. It cannot 
be doubted, we said to ourselves, upon leav- 
ing this hall of enchantment, the Arcadie, 
the land of romance and poetry, is — a Jewel- 
er's shop ! 

The apartment covering the second floor, 
of the same size with that beneath, is finished 
in pure unornamented white, and tilled with 
artistic bronze articles of all kinds, arranged 
on elaborately carved white-oak tables. These 
bronzes are all manufactured in Paris, and, 
outside of that city, no collection of them 
surpasses in richness and extent that dis- 
played i« this immense apartment. They 
consiet of mantel ornaments of every descrip- 
tion, artistic figures, single nad in groups, of 
various sizes, vases, clocks, candelabra, can- 
dlesticks, lamps, girandoles, ornamental gas- 
fixtures, &c.. Some of the bronze figures are 
of life size, and the statuettes seemed to be 
innumerable. The display of bronzes at the 
New York Crystal Palace was very fine, as 
most of our readers are probably aware, of 
their own knowledge, but it could not have 
compared in numljer, variety, or workman- 
ship, with that collection we were now sur- 
veying- 

For one who lives a life of pleasure we 
here beheld a most fitting and emblematic 
marker of the flying hours. It was a playful 
and most gracefully arranged group in 



38 



JF.WI^LRY AND TTIE rRECIOUS STONES. 



Iironze, consititing (if a capering goat attaclit'il 
to and drawing a car, wliicli Avas surmounted 
and surrounded by irolicsonie Cupids. The 
wlieel next to tiie spectiitor served as the dial 
oi" a clock. The price of it Avas three or four 
hundred dolhii's. We remember a superb 
group — Napoleon at the Bridge of Arcole, 
the value of vvhicli was tlireo hundred ddl- 
lars, and at about half that sum an exquisite 
classical composition about three feet high— 
Hector taking leave of Andromache. At 
about a hundred dollars there was a most 
admirable and perfect miniature of the fa- 
mous Arch of Trium[)h in Paris. We recall 
too, distinctl}', a magnificent .and enormous 
\'ase supported by two satyrs, surrounded by 
a Bacchanalian group. But it is impossible 
to enumerate all thegroupsof horses, wolves, 
and other animals, urns covered with figures 
in relief, tripod inkstands, figures in relief 
on large me<lalli()ns, etc., that we here saw 
in bronze. A groat feature in this depai't- 
ment was the variety of novel and beautiful 
contrivances for affording light at night, the 
i>r-molu gas-fixtures, Argaud burners for gas, 
with porcelain shades, hall-lamps of painted 
porcelain, &c.. There was one chandelier 
fitted with a single enormous globe of ground 
glass, the whole supported only by flexible 
chains, through one of wdiich ran a channel 
for conveying the gas down. This and 
most of the chandeliers were balanced with 
weights, so as to be pulled down or elevated 
at pleasure by a mere touch of the finger. 
This struck us as a great convenience, and 
upon expressing some surprise to our cice- 
rone that we had never met with any similar 
contrivance in Philadelphia, where gas is 
burned in every house, with scarcely a single 
exception, he informed us that the Gas Com- 
pany would not allow tlie introduction of 
this arrangement. This statement, we think, 
nuist be erroneous, as we cannot possibly 
imagine to what objec^on the plan can be 
open on the part of the gas-manufiicturers. 
Tlie reason why it is not used probably is 
that it is patented and too expensive. 

This apartment, rendered so gorgeous and 
intricate by its contents, is amply lighted 
from the front by large arched windows, each 
consisting of a single plate, and together oc- 
cupying the entire end of the room, which 
latter is of the full size of the building with 
the exception of a small ofiice comprised in 
the rear. 

The third floor is filled with elegant porce- 
lain from Sevres, Dresden, and otherwhere; 
tortoise shell, enameled, and inlaid furni- 
ture, and dressing tables, &c., &c.. 

We saw here a gentleman's dressing ease 
in rose-wood, the price of which was a th(ju- 
sand dollars. It contained a basin, ewer, 
candle-sticks, &c., of solid silver ; even the 



frfime of the mirror, we rememlier, was of 
silver. 

The Sevres porcelain vases were extremely 
beautiful, and tlie tete-a-tete tea sots, for. a 
hundred dollars, or a little less, painted with 
rustic scenes, were really exquisite. 

Theie were cups and saucers of Dresden 
porcelain at a hundred dollars a dozen, and 
dinner sets at three thousand dollars ! The 
statuettes of this material were remarkably 
beautiful; we remem))er one of a female 
figure, in an exquisitely cut, lace dress, the 
price of which was aiiout a hundred dollars; 
also five most ingenious and pretty concep- 
tions, emblematic of the five Senses. 

The beautiful gveridoiis painted with 
flowers, and the exquisite toilet-tables, en- 
ameled, and inlaid with gold and shell, and 
garnished with tiieir elaborately carved ivory 
brushes, we have only time to give a hurried 
parting glance. 

This story was lighted in the same manner 
by plate-glass, arched windows, but of smaller 
size, and the articles were all arranged in 
cases upon white-oak tables, in the same ele- 
gant style, as in the rooms beneath. Suffice 
it to say of the interior, that from roof to 
basement floor, throughout every section of 
the building, convenience, elegance, taste, 
and security, were cojnbined in a degree as 
nearly perfect, as, w^ith our present lights, 
we think attainable. 

But this establishment would be unjustly 
dealt with, did we not speak, with emphatic 
commendation, of the external of the edifice, 
in which it is embodied — a structure worthy 
in all respects of its artistic and precious con- 
tents, and, we verily believe, unsurpassed in 
classic beauty by any business edifice in the 
Avorld. It is of white marble, and of that richly 
ornamental composite order, denominated the 
modern Italian. The whole fa<jade is pierced, 
with perfect symmetry, by fine arched win- 
dows, so large, upon the first and second 
floors, and filled with such clear glass, as to 
leave the whole interior of those stories ex- 
posed to view from the opposite side of Broad- 
way. A richly carved entablature projects 
over the first story, and from thence to the 
top appear elaborate sculptures in bas-relief, 
of different designs upon each story. The 
fifth story is surmounted by an ornate cornice, 
on each end of which is a lion's head, and in 
the centre are two Cupids flying to each 
other, and clasping a wreath of flowers, all 
in bas-relief on marble. This stately edifice 
is imposingly crowned, in the centre of this 
cornice, by two huge and majestic lions 
couchant, facing opposite points of the com- 
pass. 

Of the history of the Jeweler's Art in this 
country we know next to nothing. Indeed 
■we question if materials exist, at least in any 



JEWELRY AND THE PRECIOrS STOXES. 



30 



ncce^silde slinpe, for framing such a history, 
cve!i were it desiralile. IJnf we suspect tiiut 
whateji'er is of interest in relation to this sub- 
jof.t belongs almost exclusively to our own 
day. And yet, after reading what we have 
just described, one niight think he was read- 
ing of an Art, which an antiquity of many 
centtiries in any one country could alone 
have brought to such a state of perfection. 
Of M'r TiFFANV and his co-partners we know 
l)ersonnlly no m'ore tlum docs any one of our 
leaders, but it is no difficult matter for us or 
any other person to infer that the master- 
mind, whosesoever it is, of such an Institu- 
tion as tliat we have descrilied, must be one of 
high reiinement, and of great artistic judg- 
ment and taste, as well as possessing com- 
mercial talents of the highest and most com- 
prehensive ciiaracter, to conduct securely 
and profitablj' a business so vast, and so 
res))onsible as that involved in such an es- 
tablishment as we have set forth. The 
word Institution we used advisedly, for well 
is that title merited. The edifice itself is 
a veritable Temple of Beauty, and its ex- 
quisitely fashioned and embellished contents 
are fitting offerings for the shrine of such a 
Temple. And who shall saj' how far and 
wide a taste and a love for Beauty and Grace 
maj' not spread over the land from SKch a 
centre? 

Our reader may perhaps count it strange, 
if not objectionable, that we have surrender- 
ed so much space and devoted so much time 
to the history and description of a single Art 
with its belongings, and that Art one which 
is commonly associated with ideas of luxury, 
not to say vice, rather than with those of 
utility and virtue. 

In reply to such notions we have to say 
that Beauty is one of the highest and most 
universal elements of the Creation, and the 
love of Beauty is one of the most indestructi- 
ble and craving appetencies of that Human 
Soul, which is Creation's vice-gerent. 

If therefore all our faculties were designed 
by their Giver, to be unfolded, so far as our 
means and opportunities permit — and what 
enlarged mind can question this? — then to 
cultivate the love and capacity for the Beau- 
tiful, and to create, to the measure of our 
ability, what corresponds thereto, may be 
pronounced an obligation instead of a mal- 
feasance. At the very least such cultivation 
and creation are our undeniable right. 

There are many reasons in favor of atten- 
tion to this point. 

Thus: Beauty is the natural and equal 
companion of Goodness and Truth. Tenny- 
son indeed, in one of his superb poems, 
named, we think, the "Palace of Art," inti- 
mates that these associates may be separated, 
and that Beauty may be exclusively cherish- 
ed and enjoyed, to the neglect of the other 



two. We think he exaggerates not a little; 
at any rate that severance, even though tem- 
porary, is never so complete as he repre- 
sents. 

We think that these three olemontary prin- 
ciples go normally together, and tliat the 
lover of the Beautiful is more likely than 
others to love the (Jood and the True also. 
If then moral elevaticm, intellectual refine- 
ment and the humanizing of the manners 
are all favored l)y the taste for Beauty, tlie 
inducements are certainly very strong for 
the culture of such taste. 

That the Beautiful is a source of pure and 
harmless pleasure is another cogent plea in 
its behalf. Men must amuse themselves, as 
Avell as labor. Neither bodily nor mental 
soundness can he otherwise conserved ; and 
hardly anything more deeply concerns the 
general welfare than the character of the 
amusements men seek. We trust the day 
may not be very distant when mankind may 
find some wiser and less harmful respite and 
refreshment from grave and toilful occupa- 
tions, than "sporting," (so-called) in most 
of its branches, or in gratifying their appe- 
tites by intemperance in its many kinds. 
Why, with our better moral lights, should 
we not at least do so, in one point, l)y sur- 
rounding the whole details of even ordinary 
life with a halo of Beauty ? That the results 
of so doing would, in all ways, be purifying 
and elevating, we cannot doubt for a mo- 
ment. 

If, in the foregoing remarks, the reader 
may at first sight think we have spoken too 
gravely, considering the nature of our theme, 
we beg of him to listen a few moments 
longer. 

The Jeweler's Art,like those of the Paintei% 1 
Sculptor, &c., is simply a special mode of ' 
producing certain forms of Beauty. That is, 
following the example of the Great Proto- 
Artist, he imprints upon certain materials 
those forms, which gratify a certain taste, 
the germs of which are implanted in every 
human mind. The materials he employs, i.e. 
the gems and the precious metals, are, in 
themselves, rare and beautiful — the products 
of that Principle of Beauty, which is a con- 
stituent of the Divine Mind. 

But, unlike the flower, the sea-shell, the 
rainbow, and myriads of things beside, which 
are met with in nature perfected, and unap- 
proachable by human endeavor, the above 
materials are found in the rough, but are 
capable of being wrought, by man's skill, 
into shapes far more beautiful than their 
primitive. Does it not seem as if these two 
classes of creations were expressly designed 
to incite men to the culture of the Beautiful? 
— the incomplete furnishing materials for 
man's experimentation — i\\Q perfected serving 



-•"> 



JEWELRY AND THE PRECIOUS STONES. 



iis exemplars? The idea seems to us by no 
means absurd. 

If then we penetrate deeper than the mere 
surface of things, it will appear that the Art 
of the Jeweler, like the other Fine Arts, and, 
in short, like all modes of creatino- Beauty, 
whether in form or tint, corresponds to one 
of the profoundest facts in the universe, and 
ministers to one of the most ineradicable 
wants of the human mind. It is as truly a 
part of the mechanism of this material life, 
as the vocation of the farmer, who feeds us, 
or the house-builder, who constructs a shelter 
from the elements. 



We will not here enter upon the cthuaes of 
ornamentation. They are hut too common, 
and are familiar to all. They make however 
nothing against the Beauty-producing A-rti<. 
but are merely instances of that human 
frailty, and unsustained equilibrium, which 
are as old as History — which are indeed the 
distinguishing characteristic of Man. As 
Pope expresses it in his immortal Essay 
upon that frail creation, we may as well 
expect 

" eternal springs, and cloudless skies, 
Af! Men for ever temiierate, calm and wipe." 



[Postscript. — Since all of the foregoing pages have been in type we have read for 
the first time in the North Brilijih Review for' November, 1852, an article, entitled the 
"History of the Diamond," in vsrhich the diflBculties in the way of the " Koh-i-noorV 
olaim are set forth in much the same manner as we have done. The writer quotes a 
theory of Professor James Tennant, Mineralogist to the Queen, according to which the 
"Emperor of Russia's Diamond" and the "Koh-i-noor" are both slices of the "Great 
Mogul's ;" this theory however the writer in the Korth British does not himself support, 
nor do we think it entitled to the least consideration, especially as it appears that 
Professor Tennant's information in regard to the Russian Diamond is as limited as our 
own. Notwithstanding the many forcible facts stated in the article, the author does not 
seem to have had the independence to deduce his own conclusions in regard to the 
"Mogul Diamond" and the "Koh-i-noor," unless, in the face of his own arguments, he 
includes himself among the "believers" referred to in the following sentence: "'The 
iJreat Mogul Diamond' passed through various hands, and after many changes in weight 
and in form is believed to be represented by the Great Exhibition Diamond belonging to 
Her Majesty." This however is scarcely probable, after his stating that " the historical 
evidence" and " the physical testimony of weight and form" — " two sources of evidence," 
lie says, " which, taken separately, we consider irresistible, and which, when combined, 
uniountto demonstration" — are both against conclusions involved in such a "belief 1" 

The name of D'r Horace Wilson is given in this article as the writer of the account of 
tiie "Koh-i-noor," published in the " Official Catalogue of the Great Exhibition," and the 
author of this article itself is stated by the Eclectic Magazine, fur January, 1853, (in which 
it is republished,) to be Sir David Brewster, which latter statement we do not hesitate to 
discredit. Although the article is deeply interesting, and irreproachable in its style, it does 
not exhibit such results of personal scientific research as we presume would characteri/.o- 
•whatever would be deemed worthy of publication by so eminent a philosopher.! 



